e    OF  CAUFOHNIA    o 


o    THl  UMVMSrTY    o 

8 


\ 


o    TK 


•    K>  A*VWn  3HL    o 
'  V 


•    Or  CALIFORNIA    o 


SANTA  BARBARA   « 


\          / 

o  VWWVfl  V1H   *  o 


•  do  Awmn  IHI 


•  IHI  UMAHY  OF   e 
I 


AUSliAINO    3H1 


e  VUV9UV9  Vltm  o 


\ 


O    THE  LIBRARY  Of    o 


WflKMITVO  JO 


o    OF  CAlFOtNM    o 


O    THE  UNIVERSITY     o 

s 


0   SANTA  ftAABARA    ° 


O    THE  UNTVEtSITT    O 


\ 


o  VWMV9  V1NVS  o 


\ 


e    Of  CAtffOtNIA    o 


o    JU1SWAINO  3H1 


o    THE  UN1VCT5ITY    o 
S 


e    OF  CAUfOKNIA    o 


SANTA  BARBARA  ° 


0    THE  UNIVERSITY    o 
8 


JO  ABVK«n  3H1 


o   THE  IIMARY  OF   e 


•  SANTA  BARBARA  ° 


o  VUV9HV9  V1NV«  o 


•    VINDCWIIVD  iO    » 


\ 


e   THE  LIBRARY  OF   » 
I 


O  VWOTVt  V1NVS  » 


e    OF  CMIFORNM    e 


ANTIQUITIES  OF  CENTRAL  AMERICA. 


BOSTON: 
C.H.   PEIRCE   AND    G.C.RAND 


THE   MANNERS,  CUSTOMS, 


ANTIQUITIES  OF  THE  INDIANS 


NORTH  AND  SOUTH  AMERICA: 


BY  THE  AUTHOR  OF 


PETER    PARLEY'S   TALES 


BOSTON: 
PUBLISHED  BY  RAND  AND  MANN, 

No.  3  ConihilL 
1  i4U. 

L , , 


PKESS   OF   GEORGE   C.   R.VN1J  &   CO. 


PREFACE. 


WE  have  already  given  to  the  public  two  volumes  upon  the 
Indians  of  North  and  South  America.  The  first,  entitled 
"  Lives  of  Famous  Indians,"  presented  the  history  of  some 
of  the  master  spirits  of  the  red  race ;  the  second,  entitled  a 
"  History  of  the  American  Indians,"  was  designed  to  furnish 
a  brief  outline  of  their  story,  from  the  earliest  existing  records 
to  the  present  time. 

We  now  offer  a  view  of  the  Manners,  Customs,  and  Antiquities 
of  the  Indians,  both  of  the  northern  and  southern  portion  of  the 
Continent.  The  subject  is  erceedinJPfertile  in  curious  phe- 
nomena, and,  though  our  brief  space  confines  us  to  mere 
sketches,  we  believe  enough  is  presented  to  enlist  the  sympa- 
fhy  of  the  reader,  and  to  open  new  sources  of  deep  and  touch- 
ing interest.  The  picture  of  one  of  the  great  families  of  our 
race  living  apart  from  the  rest  of  the  world,  and  working  out 
their  destiny  in  isolation, — presenting  the  spectacle  of  man's 
progress  when  left  as  a  savage  without  contact  with  civilization 


IV 


PREFACE. 


for  ages, — cannot  fail  to  urge  a  strong  claim  to  our  attention. 
The  varied  phases  of  humanity,  under  such  circumstances, 
will  be  found  to  suggest  many  new  views  of  human  nature, 
and  will  doubtless  lead  to  many  useful  reflections. 


CONTENTS 


FAGE. 

THE  MEXICAN  INDIANS,         ......  7 

ANTIQUITIES  OF  CENTRAL  AMERICA,       ....  89 

INDIANS  OF  PERU, 105 

THE  ARAUCANJANS,       r 164 

THE  ABIPONES,     .        .        .        .                 .        .        .  174 

VARIOUS  SOUTH  AMERICAN  TRIBES,        ....  178 

THE  ATLANTIC  TRIBES  OF  NORTH  AMERICA,  .        .        .  186 

MANNERS  AND  CUSTOMS  OF  THE  SAVAGE  TRIBES  OF 

NORTH  AMERICA, 189 

MANNERS  AND  CUSTOMS   OF   THE   LEADING  INDIAN 

TRIBES  OF  THE  WEST,       .    ^^      .        .        .  295 


HASHERS  AND  CUSTOMS  OF  THE 
AMERICAN  INDIANS, 


THE  MEXICAN  INDIANS. 

WHEN  Cortes  landed  upon  the  coast  of  Mexico,  in 
1519,  the  country  immedia^j^  around  the  city  of 
Mexico,  bore  the  general  nQPI  of  Anahuac.  This 
embraced  several  states,  \vmcn  at  this  period  con- 
stituted the  proper  kingdom  of  the  emperor,  Mon- 
tezuma,  though  he  exercised  domain  over  a  much 
wider  territory.  The  regions  occupied  by  the  Mex- 
icans, had  been  long  peopled,  but  the  early  inhabi- 
tants were  savages.  A  nation  called  Toltecs  came 
hither  from  the  north,  probably  in  the  seventh  cen- 
tury, and  settled  there.  These  were  skilled  m 


O  THE    MEXICAN    INDIANS. 

agriculture,  the  mechanic  arts,  architecture  and  astron- 
omy. They  were  therefore  the  source  of  that  civili- 
zation which  was  found  among  their  successors,  the 
Aztecs,  or  Mexicans.  The  noble  ruins  of  religious 
and  other  edifices,  found  in  Central  America  and  the 
contiguous  regions,  are  referred  to  this  people. 

After  three  or  four  centuries,  this  race,  who  had 
extended  their  dominion  over  the  whole  of  Anahuac, 
being  greatly  reduced  by  war,  famine  and  pestilence, 
disappeared,  and  probably  emigrated  to  the  south, 
where  they  founded  the  cities  of  Copan,  Palenque,  &c., 
whose  majestic  ruins  still  excite  the  wonder  of  the 
beholder. 

The  Toltecs  were  followed  by  other  races,  some  of 
them  in  a  savage  state,  and  others  bearing  the  marks 
of  incipient  civilization.  Among  these  were  the  Az- 
tecs, or  Mexicans,  and  the  Tezcucans,  who  in  due 
time  became  the  masters  of  such  portions  of  the  coun- 
try as  they  occupied.  While  the  former  remained  in 
a  state  of  poverty,  the  latter  rose  to  a  considerable 
pitch  of  prosperity  and  po\ver.  They  continued, 
however,  to  maintain  an  alliance  with  each  other; 
though  their  two  camMk,  Mexico  and  Tezcuco,  both 
on  the  Mexican  Lak^^Pcame  populous  and  wealthy 
cities. 

By  degrees  the  Mexicans  triumphed  over  the  diffi- 
culties by  which  they  had  been  oppressed,  and  under 
a  series  of  able  kings  had  stretched  their  dominion 
across  the  continent,  from  the  Atlantic  to  the  Pacific. 
This  extent  of  empire  is  remarkable,  considering  it  as 
the  acquisition  of  a  people  who  had  recently  been 
confined  to  a  single  city.  This  point  in  the  history 


THE    MEXICAN    INDIANS.  9 

of  the  Mexicans,  bears  a  singular  analogy  to  that  of 
Rome  in  her  earlier  days. 

The  history  of  the  conquest  of  Mexico*  cannot 
be  detailed  here :  it  will  be  sufficient  to  say,  that  after 
landing  on  the  continent,  Cortes  received  assistance 
from  the  Tlascalans,  and,  marching  to  Mexico,  he 
speedily  made  himself  master  of  that  capital.  The 
whole  country  soon  fell  under  the  Spanish  dominion, 
in  which  condition  it  remained  till  the  people  declared 
their  independence,  in  1821 ;  since  that  period  it  has 
been  a  separate  state. 

The  population  of  the  territory  of  Mexico,  or  Ana- 
huac,  at  the  time  of  its  conquest,  cannot  be  easily 
estimated ;  but  it  is  supposed  to  have  been,  at  least, 
equal  to  what  it  is  at  present ;  which  is  about  eight 
millions.  It  is  probable,  indeed,  that  it  was  even 
greater. 

INHABITANTS. — When  Cortes  landed  among  this 
strange  people,  separated  by  the  ocean  from  civilized 
and  enlightened  nations  and  surrounded  by  savages, 
he  was  still  surprised  to  find  that  they  possessed  many 
arts  and  customs  of  civilization,  strangely  blended  with 
atrocious  barbarities. 

Their  countenances  appeal  •lave  been  equally 
enigmatical ;  for  while  their  rormd  faces,  farther  re- 
moved from  the  oval  than  that  of  any  other  people, 
bore,  to  a  casual  observer,  an  innocent  expression,  it 
disguised  their  more  uniformly  sullen  and  distrustful 
character.  Their  foreheads  were  low,  their  lips  thick, 
and  their  noses  pointed  down  towards  their  upper  lip. 
Their  hair  was  straight  and  black ;  their  eyes,  small 
*  See  "History  of  the  Indians  of  North  and  South  America." 


10 


THE    MEXICAN    INDIANS. 


and  black  or  chesnut  colored ;  they  were  keen-sighted, 
and  discerned  objects  at  a  great  distance.  Although 
the  men  were  well  shaped,  they  had  not  hardy  consti- 
tutions, a  fact  which  the  Spaniards  imputed  to  their 
spare  diet. 


DRESS. — The  men  wore  two  or  three  mantles  over 
three  or  four  vests  oM^rious  colors,  which  were  woven 
in  figures  of  anim^Hptd  flowers,  of  feathers  and  fine 
rabbit  hair ;  they  wore  also  a  very  large  belt  with  the 
ends  twisted  and  hanging  before  and  behind.  The 
women  were  attired  in  a  square  mantle  about  four 
feet  long,  two  ends  of  which  were  tied  upon  the  breast 
or  on  one  shoulder;  the  gown  was  a  square  cloth  in 
which  they  wrapped  themselves  from  the  waist  down 
to  the  middle  of  the  leg.  This,  with  an  under  vest  or 
waistcoat,  completed  their  usual  costume. 


THE    MEXICAN    INDIANS.  11 

The  dress  of  the  poorer  classes  was  made  of  coarse 
thread  from  the  mountain  palm,  while  that  of  the  rich 
was  of  the  finest  cotton  embellished  with  many  colors. 
The  nobles  wore  shoes  worked  with  gold  and  jewels, 
and  soled  with  leather,  while  the  poorer  people  sub- 
stituted for  these  a  coarse  cloth  of  the  palm,  tied  with 
strings. 

The  hair  was  worn  long,  and  floated  on  their  shoul- 
ders, or  was  bound  in  tresses.  All  classes  except  the 
consecrated  virgins  thought  they  were  dishonored  by 
having  the  hair  cut.  There  was  much  extravagance 
and  display  in  feathers  and  jewels ;  their  necklaces  and 
bracelets  were  of  pearls,  emeralds  and  amethysts ;  in 
their  ears,  upper  lips  and  noses  they  also  wore  jewels, 
and  those  who  could  afford  nothing  better,  even  deco- 
rated themselves  with  shells  and  pieces  of  crystal. 

The  Mexicans,  like  all  Indian  nations,  had  a  pecu- 
liar fancy  for  painting  their  bodies  of  a  red  color  with 
a  certain  kind  of  earth,  found  among  them.  The 
mine  of  Guancavelica  was  formerly  of  no  other  use 
than  to  supply  them  with  materials  for  painting  their 
bodies.  Cinnabar  was  also  employed  for  the  same 
purpose.  It  may  seem  strao^^tluit  those  whose 
natural  color  was  red,  should  WH^t  color  for  artifi- 
cial decoration ;  but  connoisseOTWn  dress,  who  un- 
derstand the  harmony  of  colors,  know  that  strong 
contrasts  do  not  so  well  display  the  complexion  as  the 
hues  which  blend  with  each  other. 

A  husband's  toilette  was  of  infinitely  more  impor- 
tance than  the  wife's  ;  the  most  beautiful  jewels  were 
reserved  for  him,  and  she  often  spent  much  time  in 
painting  her  lord  and  master. 


12  THE   MEXICAN   INDIANS. 

The  taste  for  magnificence  in  decoration  and  dis- 
play, is  exhibited  in  the  following  description,  from 
Mr.  Prescott's  history,  of  the  first  interview  between 
Montezuma  and  Cortes.  "  The  Spaniards  now  beheld 
the  glittering  retinue  of  the  emperor,  emerging  from 
the  great  street  which  led  then,  as  it  does  now, 
through  the  heart  of  the  city.  Amidst  a  crowd  of 
Indian  nobles,  preceded  by  three  officers  of  state, 
bearing  golden  wands,  they  saw  the  royal  palanquin 
blazing  with  burnished  gold.  It  was  borne  on  the 
shoulders  of  nobles,  and  over  it  a  canopy  of  gaudy 
feather  work,  powdered  with  jewels,  and  fringed  with 
silver,  was  supported  by  four  attendants  of  the  same 
rank.  They  were  barefooted,  and  walked  with  a 
slow,  measured  pace,  and  with  eyes  bent  on  the 
ground.  When  the  train  had  come  within  a  conve- 
nient distance,  it  halted,  and  Montezuma,  descending 
from  his  litter,  came  forward,  leaning  on  the  arms  of 
the  lords  of  Tezcuco  and  Iztapalapan,  his  nephew 
and  brother,  both  of  whom,  as  we  have  seen,  had 
already  been  known  to  the  Spaniards.  As  the  mon- 
arch advanced  under  the  canopy,  the  obsequious 
attendants  strewedBfck  ground  with  cotton  tapestry, 
that  his  imperial •  Blight  not  be  contaminated  by 
the  rude  soil.  Hil^TODjects,  of  high  and  low  degree, 
who  lined  the  sides  of  the  causeway,  bent  forward, 
with  their  eyes  fastened  on  the  ground  as  he  passed, 
and  some  of  the  humbler  class  prostrated  themselves 
before  him.  Such  was  the  homage  paid  to  the  Indian 
despot,  showing  that  the  slavish  forms  of  Oriental 
adulation  were  to  be  found  among  the  rude  inhabitants 
of  the  Western  World. 


THE    MEXICAN    INDIANS.  13 

"  Montezuma  wore  the  girdle  and  ample  square  cloak, 
tilmatli,  of  his  nation.  It  was  made  of  the  finest  cot- 
ton, with  the  embroidered  ends  gathered  in  a  knot 
around  his  back.  His  feet  were  defended  by  sandals 
having  soles  of  gold,  and  the  leather  thongs  which 
bound  them  to  his  ankles  were  embossed  with  the 
same  metal.  Both  the  cloak  and  sandals  were  sprin- 
kled with  pearls  and  precious  stones,  among  which  the 
emerald  and  the  chalchivitl — a  green  stone,  of  higher 
estimation  than  any  other  among  the  Aztecs — were 
conspicuous.  On  his  head  he  wore  no  other  orna- 
ment than  a  panache  of  plumes  of  the  royal  green, 
which  floated  down  his  back,  the  badge  of  military, 
rather  than  of  regal  rank. 

"  He  was  at  this  time  about  forty  years  of  age.  His 
person  was  tall  and  thin,  but  not  ill-made.  His  hair, 
which  was  black  and  straight,  was  not  very  long :  to 
wear  it  short  was  considered  unbecoming  persons  of 
rank.  His  head  was  thin  ;  his  complexion  somewhat 
paler  than  is  often  found  in  his  dusky,  or  rather  copper- 
colored,  race.  His  features,  though  serious  in  their 
expression,  did  not  wear  the  look  of  melancholy, 
indeed,  of  dejection,  which  cbfl^^rizes  his  portrait, 
and  which  may  well  have  s^l  Hi  them  at  a  later 
period.  He  moved  with  digrnr^^md  his  whole  de- 
meanor, tempered  by  an  expression  of  benignity,  not 
to  have  been  anticipated  from  the  reports  circulated 
of  his  character,  was  worthy  of  a  great  prince." 

The  taste  for  display  was  by  no  means  confined  to 
the  monarch,  for  it  was  visible  in  the  dress  of  all 
ranks. 

v.— 2 


14 


THE    MEXICAN    INDIANS. 


House  of  the  better  class. 

DWELLINGS. — The  Mexicans  affirmed  that  when  they 
first  came  to  inhabit  their  country,  they  used  no  other 
materials  for  building  houses  than  mud  and  reeds; 
but  success  attending  their  efforts,  they  built  a  better 
city,  of  good  houses,  principally  of  stone  and  lime,  two 
stories  high.  Each  house  had  a  hall  and  a  large  court- 
yard. The  chamberewere  well  arranged  ;  the  floors 
were  of  plaster, ^^f^  level  and  smooth;  and  the 
roofs  flat  and  rafl  •'he  best  houses  had  terraced 
walls,  so  white  amWmining,  that  they  appeared  at  a 
distance  to  be  of  silver.  Some  houses  had  gardens  with 
fish-ponds  and  walks  symmetrically  laid  out.  The 
larger  ones  had,  likewise,  two  entrances,  the  principal 
one  opening  to  the  street  and  the  other  towards  the 
water.  Pietro  Martin  ?nys,  "  The  doors  of  their 
houses  and  chambers  were  full  of  diverse  kindes  of 
shells  hanging  loose  by  small  cordes;  that,  being 


THE    MEXICAN    INDIANS.  15 

shaken  by  the  wind,  they  make  a  certaine  ratteling 
and  also  a  whisteiing  noise,  by  gathering  the  wind  in 
their  hollow  places ;  for  herein  they  have  great  de- 
light, and  impute  this  for  a  goodly  ornament." 

In  describing  the  habitations  of  the  common  peo- 
ple, we  may  also  use  the  quaint  language  of  Pietro. 
"  They  are  made  round  like  bells;  their  frame  is 
raised  of  exceeding  high  trees,  set  close  together  and 
fast  rampaired  in  the  ground,  so  standing  aslope  and 
bending  inward  that  the  toppes  of  the  trees  joyne  to- 
gether and  bear  one  against  another ;  having  also  with- 
in the  house  certain  strong  and  short  proppes  or  posts, 
which  sustayne  the  trees  from  falling.  They  cover 
them  with  the  leaves  of  date  trees  strongly  compact 
and  hardened,  wherewith  they  make  them  close  from 
winde  and  weather.  At  the  short  posts,  or  proppes, 
within  the  house,  they  tie  ropes  of  the  cotton  of  gos- 
sampine  trees,  or  other  ropes  made  of  certain  long  and 
rough  roots ;  these  they  tie  athwart  the  house  from 
post  to  post.  On  these  they  lay,  as  it  were,  certain 
mattresses  made  of  the  cotton  of  gossampine  trees, 
which  grow  plentifully  in  these  lands, — and  thus  they 
sleepe  in  hanging  beds." 

Like  the  rudest  Indians,  se^B  ^pnilies  often  resi- 
ded under  the  same  roof,  withorBBmng  any  separate 
apartments.  The  common  people,  like  most  inhabi- 
tants of  hot  countries,  appear  to  have  been  little  soli- 
citous about  their  habitations,  often  taking  shelter 
from  the  sun  under  thick  trees,  and  forming  a  shed 
with  their  branches  and  leaves. 

Upon  the  Lake  of  Mexico  they  had  floating  islets, 
with  dwelling  huts  upon  them,  which  werj  moved 


16 


THE    MEXICAN    INDIANS. 


from  bay  to  bay,  as  the  inhabitants  required  sunshine 
or  shelter.  The  dwellings  of  the  cities  will  be  more 
particularly  described  hereafter. 

FOOD  AND  DRINK. — The  Mexicans  raised  maize,  or 
Indian  corn,  for  food,  and  used  the  manioc,  which 
grows  to  the  size  of  a  large  shrub,  with  roots  like  the 
parsnip.  After  carefully  squeezing  out  the  juice,  these 
roots  were  grated  down  to  a  fine  powder  and  made 
into  thin  cakes,  which  were  called  cassada  bread. 
As  the  juice  of  the  manioc  is  a  poison,  it  has  occasioned 
no  little  surprise  that  the  Indians  could  convert  it  into 
nutritious  food.  The  potato  was  common,  and  roasted 


The  Pimento  or  Allspice  tree. 
plantain  supplied  the  place  of  bread.     A  favorite  sea- 


THE    MEXICAN    INDIANS.  17 

soning  for  everything  was  the  pimento,  which  yields 
an  aromatic  spice,  and  was  almost  deemed  an  elixir  of 
life.  Chocolate  was  of  universal  consumption,  and 
the  favorite  drink  of  persons  in  every  rank  of  life. 

Pulque,  which  is  the  fermented  juice  of  the  mag- 
uey, and  is  still  used  as  a  beverage  in  Mexico,  was  a 
common  drink  at  their  feasts.  It  is  slightly  intoxi- 
cating, and  was  sometimes  taken  to  excess  by  the  elder 
guests.  Intemperance  in  the  young  was  severely 
punished. 

Hunting  and  fishing  likewise  supplied  them  with 
food ;  but  a  staple  article  was  the  flesh  of  their  enemies 
taken  in  war,  which  they  devoured  with  a  rapacity 
equal  to  the  most  ferocious  savages.  It  furnished  the 
supply  at  their  feasts,  and  was  eaten  raw.  At  other 
times  the  flesh  of  their  enemies  was  salted  .and  pre- 
served, and  presented  to  their  nearest  friends. 

At  their  entertainments,  their  table  was  well  pro- 
vided with  substantial  meats  and  game,  especially 
the  turkey,  which  was  abundant.  They  had  vari- 
ous dishes  of  vegetables,  and  many  delicious  fruits. 
Their  viands  were  prepared  with  delicate^  sauces^aifd;' 
seasoning.  The  palate  was  ak|Megaled  by  confec- 
tions and  pastries,  for  which  j^^^pand  the  flour  of 
maize  supplied  ample  rnateriaIs.'*At  celebrations  the 
flesh  of  a  slave  sacrificed  for  the  purpose,  and  dressed 
with  epicurean  skill,  formed  a  favorite  embellishment 
of  the  feast. 

The  meats  were  kept  warm  by  chafing-dishes,  and 

the  table   was  ornamented  with    delicately  wrought 

ware  of  silver  and  gold.     They  had  drinking  cups 

and  spoons  of  the  same  materials,  and  also  of  tortoise 

B  2* 


18  THE    MEXICAN    INDIANS. 

shell.  They  not  only  used  chocolate,  or  ckocolatl,  fla- 
vored with  vanilla  and  different  spices,  as  a  drink,  but 
the  froth  was  converted  into  a  solid  form  and  eaten 
cold.  The  fermented  juice  of  the  maguey,  in  various 
forms,  was  the  chief  drink  of  the  elder  guests.  The 
feast  was  closed  by  dancing,  accompanied  with  plain- 
tive music. 

The  women  shared  in  these  entertainments,  which 
were  often  conducted  on  a  magnificent  scale.  The 
guests  were  served  by  numerous  attendants  of  both 
sexes.  The  halls  were  scented  with  perfumes,  the 
courts  strewed  with  fragrant  flowers  and  plants,  and 
rich  bouquets  were  handed  to  the  guests  as  they 
arrived.  The  ceremony  of  ablution  was  performed 
before  and  after  eating ;  cotton  napkins  and  covers  of 
water  being  placed  for  the  purpose. 

After  the  meal,  tobacco,  mixed  with  aromatic  sub- 
stances, was  provided,  either  in  pipes  or  in  cigars, 
furnished  with  tubes  of  tortoise-shell  or  silver. 
Whether  the  women  partook  of  this  indulgence,  as  is 
now  the  custom  in  Mexico,  we  are  not  told.  It  ap- 
pears that  they  were  accustomed  to  use  tobacco  in 
the  form  of  snuflf.  ^^ 

TRAVELLING. — 'jHpmode  of  travelling  by  land 
was  on  foot,  for  theyraid  no  domestic  quadrupeds,  and 
by  water,  in  canoes,  with  which  they  could  easily 
ascend  rivers  against  the  rapidity  of  the  stream.  So 
inured  were  they  to  this  labor,  that  no  crew  of  white 
people  could  equal  them. 

AMTJSEMENTS. — The  dance  was  their  serious  occu- 
pation, as  well  as  their  favorite  amusement,  and  seems 
U>  have  accompanied  all  their  important  dealings  with 


THE    MEXICAN    INDIANS.  19 

each  other.  If  an  Indian  came  with  an  emblem  of 
peace,  he  must  approach  with  a  solemn  dance,  while 
the  caciques  received  him  in  the  same  manner.  If  war 
was  denounced  against  an  enemy,  a  dance  expressed 
their  resentment.  If  the  wrath  of  the  gods  was  to  be 
appeased,  or  their  beneficence  celebrated,  they  danced. 
Rejoicing  at  the  birth  of  a  child,  or  mourning  for  its 
death,  had  both  their  appropriate  dances ; — nor  were 
the  sick  and  dying  free  from  these  tumults,  for  if  una- 
ble themselves  to  join  in  the  dance,  their  physician 
or  conjurer  performed  the  ceremony  around  them. 
While  to  the  Spaniards  their  music  seemed  simple 
and  monotonous,  to  the  Mexicans  it  was  in  the  high- 
est degree  inspiring  and  animating. 

Their  war-dance  was  a  complete  pantomime  of  their 
campaigns.  It  represented  the  solemn  departure  from 
their  homes, —  their  steady  march  upon  the  enemy, — 
their  caution  in  encamping, — their  skill  in  stationing 
their  party  in  ambush,  and  their  manner  of  surprising 
and  rushing  on  the  foe.  Then  succeeded  the  strug- 
gle of  the  combat, — the  seizing  of  the  prisoners, — 
the  triumphant  return,  and  the  unrelenting  torture 
of  their  victims.  Into  this  spoj±  they  entered  with 
such  wild  enthusiasm,  such  ^^Hkent  gestures  and 
terrific  countenances,  that  the  Europeans  could  scarce 
believe  it  a  mimic  scene,  or  view  it  without  emotions 
of  fear  and  horror. 

They  engaged  in  games  of  hazard  with  great  eager- 
ness, as  did  the  whole  Indian  nation ;  while  thus 
employed  they  became  rapacious,  noisy  and  almost 
frantic.  They  would  stake  all  they  possessed,  and 
even  their  personal  liberty,  on  a  single  cast  of  the 


20  THE    MEXICAN    IKDIANS. 

die.  Southey  gives  the  following  description  of  the 
amusement  called  the  Flyers,  founded  on  the  account 
furnished  by  Clavigero. 

"But  now  a  shout  went  forth  ;  the  Flyers  mount, 
And  from  all  meaner  sports  the  multitude 
Flock  to  their  favorite  pastime.     In  the  ground, 
Branchless  and  bark'd,  the  trunk  of  some  tall  pine 
Is  planted ;  near  its  summit  a  square  frame. 
Four  cords  pass  through  the  perforated  square 
And  fifty  times  and  twice  around  the  tree, 
A  mystic  number,  are  entwined  above. 
Four  Aztecas,  equipped  with  wings,  ascend, 
And  round  them  bind  the  ropes  ;  anon  they  wave 
Their  pinions,  and  upborne  on  spreading  plumes, 
Launch  on  the  air  and  wheel  in  circling  flight, 
The  lengthening  cords  untwisting  as  they  fly. 
A  fifth  above,  upon  the  perilous  point 
Dances  and  shakes  a  flag ;  and  on  the  frame 
Others  the  while  maintain  their  giddy  stand, 
Till  now  with  many  a  round  the  wheeling  cords 
Draw  near  their  utmost  length,  and  toward  the  ground 
The  aerial  circles  speed ;  then  down  the  ropes 
They  spring,  and  on  their  way  from  line  to  line 
Pass,  while  the  shouting  multitude  endure 
A  shuddering  admiration." 

DOMESTIC  LiFE^Blptwithstanding  the  atrocious 
customs  which  we  nna  among  these  ancient  Mexi- 
cans, we  shall  find  many  pleasing  traits  in  the  picture 
of  their  domestic  life.  The  women  were  handsome, 
possessing  a  serious  and  somewhat  melancholy  cast 
of  countenance.  They  were  treated  with  kindness 
by  their  husbands,  spending  their  time  in  indolent 
repose,  or  the  feminine  occupations  of  spinning  and 
embroidery.  The  maidens  beguiled  the  hours  by  the 


THE    MEXICAN    INDIANS.  21 

rehearsal  of  traditionary  tales  and  ballads.  The  dis- 
cipline of  children  was  severe,  especially  at  the  schools. 
When  arrived  at  maturity,  the  girls  were  treated  with 
great  tenderness  by  their  parents.  They  counselled 
them  to  preserve  neatness  of  attire,  personal  cleanliness, 
simplicity  of  manners,  and  innocence  in  conversation. 
They  inculcated  modesty  as  the  chief  ornament  of  the 
sex,  and  enjoined  implicit  reverence  for  their  husbands. 
They  were  accustomed  to  soften  their  counsel  by 
many  epithets  of  endearment,  displaying  the  fulness 
of  parental  affection. 

There  appears  to  have  been  much  kindly  inter- 
course in  society.  They  consoled  their  friends  in 
moments  of  affliction,  and  congratulated  them  upon 
the  occasions  of  marriages,  births  and  baptisms,  ac- 
companying these  attentions  with  costly  presents  of 
dresses  and  ornaments,  or  groups  of  chosen  flowers. 
Ceremonial  visits  were  regulated  with  Oriental  pre- 
cision, and  embellished  with  many  expressions  of 
esteem  and  affection. 

TOOLS  AND  INSTRUMENTS. — Among  the  instruments 
used  by  the  Mexicans  were  hatchets  of  stone,  shell, 
and  bone.  With  these  they  not  only  formed  their 
necessary  utensils,  but  other  'fcbrks  of  art.  Cold 
and  phlegmatic  in  temperament,  they  would  return  to 
their  task  day  after  day,  with  the  most  tedious  method, 
- — and  "  the  work  of  an  Indian,"  was  a  phrase  used 
among  the  Spaniards,  when  they  wished  to  describe 
anything  by  which  long  time  had  been  employed  and 
much  labor  wasted. 

They  were  well  acquainted  with  the  mineral  trea- 
sures of  their  kingdom  ;  not  only  silver  and  gold,  but 


£Z  THE    3IEXICAN 

lead,  tin  and  copper  were  in  use.  They  had  mines  in 
the  solid  rock  where  they  opened  extensive  galleries. 
As  a  substitute  for  iron,  the  use  of  which  was  un- 
known, they  used  an  alloy  of  tin  and  copper.  Of  this 
bronze  they  made  tools,  with  which  they  cut  metals ; 
and  by  the  aid  of  a  silicious  dust,  they  even  wrought 
porphyry.  They  cast  vessels  of  gold  and  silver,  and 
chased  them  in  a  delicate  manner  with  their  metallic 
chisels.  Some  of  their  silver  vases  were  so  large, 
that  a  man  could  not  encompass  them  with  his  arms. 
They  possessed  the  wonderful  art  of  so  mixing  their 
metals,  that  the  feathers  of  a  bird  or  the  scales  of  a 
fish  would  be  alternately  of  gold  and  silver.  No 
European  artizan  could  equal  them  in  these  delicate 
manufactures.  An  important  cutting  instrument  was 
made  of  itzli,  or  obsidian,  a  hard,  transparent  min- 
eral, abundant  in  their  hills.  With  this  they  wrought 
stone  and  alabasters  for  their  public  works.  Of  the 
same  material  they  made  knives,  razors  and  serrated 
swords ;  also  mirrors,  which  were  sometimes  set  in 
gold. 

PAINTING,  SCULPTURE,  &c. — Painting  was  greatly 
used  among  the  Mexicans,  an  art  derived  from  the 
Toltecas.  In  a  voMfibe  preserved  in  the  library  at 
Bologna,  there  are  particular  historical  events  in  their 
paintings,  codes  of  laws,  civil  and  religious,  and  records 
chronological,  astronomical  and  astrological,  together 
with  their  calendar,  the  position  of  the  stars,  changes  of 
the  moon,  eclipses,  and  prognostications  of  the  weather ; 
they  painted,  also,  images  of  their  gods  and  heroes. 
These  the  Spaniards  regarded  as  emblems  of  heathen 
worship,  and  burned  such  as  they  found.  They  like- 


THE    MEXICAN    INDIANS. 


23 


wise  painted  the  geographical  extent  of  their  bounda- 
ries and  possessions,  the  situation  of  places,  and  direc- 
tion of  the  coast,  and  the  course  of  rivers. 


Mexican  Painting. 

Cortes  says,  in  his  first  letter  to  Charles  5th,  that 
Montezuma  presented  him  with  a  painting  which  re- 
presented the  whole  of  the  coast,  from  Vera  Cruz  to  the 
river  Coatzacualco.  Their  chief  school  for  painting 
was  at  Tezueca,  and  the  paintings  were  "all  collected 
there  in  such  a  mass,  that  it  resembled  a  little  moun- 
tain," to  which,  unfortunately  for  the  cause  of  knowl- 
edge, the  Spaniards  set  fire.  Had  they  preserved  these 
records,  they  would  have  formed  a  complete  history, 
since  everything  was  delineated  by  painting.  This 
was  an  inexpressible  grief  to  the  Indians,  and  even 


24  THE    MEXICAN   INDIANS. 

to  the  Spaniards  when  they  knew  their  error.  They 
afterwards  endeavored  to  collect  paintings  from  every 
quarter ;  but  it  will  be  readily  believed  that  the  Indi- 
ans concealed  their  labor  of  years,  and  no  inducement 
could  tempt  them  to  part  with  them. 

Humboldt  furnishes  us  with  a  copy  of  a  Mexican 
painting,  which  is  supposed  to  represent  the  story  of 
Adam  and  Eve, — derived  from  the  traditions  of  the 
fathers  of  the  race.  The  preceding  cut  is  a  copy  of 
this  curious  relic.  The  serpent  is  supposed  to  be 
tempting  Eve;  the  figures  at  the  right,  to  represent 
Cain  and  Abel,  and  those  at  the  left,  their  two  altars. 

They  painted  on  cloth,  made  of  thread  from  the 
aloe  or  palm,  and  on  sheepskin,  as  well  as  on  paper 
made  of  the  leaves  of  the  aloe,  steeped  like  hemp,  and 
afterwards  stretched  and  smoothed.  Their  colors  were 
very  beautiful,  being  extracted  from  wood,  leaves, 
flowers,  and  various  animal  substances.  Their  paint- 
ers knew  little  of  the  distribution  of  light  and  shade; 
but  the  proportions  were  accurately  observed,  and  as 
the  pictures  were  generally  made  in  haste,  sometimes 
parts  of  objects  only,  but  such  as  might  be  easily 
understood,  were  portrayed. 

The  Mexicans  had  arrived  at  greater  perfection  in 
sculpture,  casting  metals  and  in  mosaics  than  even  in 
their  painting.  The  aspect  of  their  graven  images  strong- 
ly reminds  us  of  similar  antiquities  in  Egypt.  The 
engraving  upon  the  next  page  represents  one  of  these. 

After  their  conquest  of  the  country,  the  Mexicans 
made  idols  in  honor  of  the  gods  who  had  given  them 
success.  As  the  arts  progressed  these  were  formed 
of  stone  and  wood  ;  every  attitude  of  which  the  hu- 


THE    MEXICAN   INDIANS. 


man  body  was  capable  was  expressed,  and  every 
obstacle  was  surmounted  by  these  phlegmatic  people 
in  working  stone  by  the  use  of  the  chisel.  Acosta 


mentions  with  praise,  two  statues,  one  of  Montezuma, 
the  other  of  his  son,  cut  in  basso  relievo.  They  were 
nearly  as  large  as  their  idols,  and  the  first  church  in 
Mexico  had  its  foundation  laid  from  these  statues. 

The  entrances  and  angles  of  the  edifices  of  Mexico, 
were  profusely  ornamented  with  carved  images  of 
animals  and  fantastic  deities.  Sculptured  images 
were  exceedingly  numerous,  and  a  cellar  can  hardly 
be  dug  in  the  present  city  of  Mexico,  without  turning 
up  some  of  these  relics  of  barbarian  art.  Specimens 
v.— 3 


26  THE    MEXICAN   INDIANS. 

of  these  lie  scattered  about  the  town,  and  obtain 
little  respect  from  civilized  roan.  The  two  celebrated 
reliefs  of  the  last  Montezuma  and  his  father,  cut  in 
the  solid  rock,  in  the  grove  of  Chapoltcpec,  were  delib- 
erately destroyed  by  the  order  of  government,  within 
the  last  century. 

The  most  remarkable  piece  of  sculpture  is  the 
great  calendar  stone  disinterred  in  the  great  square  of 
Mexico,  in  1790.  It  consists  of  dark  porphyry,  and 
when  taken  from  the  quarry,  Aveighed  about  fifty  tons. 
It  was  transported  from  the  mountains,  for  many 
leagues  over  a  hilly  country,  intersected  by  rivers, 
lakes  and  canals.  In  crossing  a  bridge  it  was  precip- 
itated into  the  water,  and  recovered  with  difficulty. 
The  transportation  of  so  enormous  a  fragment,  in  the 
face  of  such  obstacles,  and  without  the  use  of  cattle, 
suggests  no  mean  ideas  of  the  mechanical  skill  to 
which  these  people  had  arrived. 

They  excelled,  likewise,  in  metal  castings,  and 
also  made  images  of  gold  and  silver,  parrots  with 
movable  heads,  tongues  and  wings,  and  movable 
apes.  In  short,  says  one  author,  the  works  were  so 
admirably  finished,  that  even  the  Spaniards,  who 
thirsted  for  gold,  thought  more  of  the  workmanship 
than  of  the  gems  and  the  gold  and  silver  of  which 
they  were  made.  So  debased  and  indolent,  however, 
did  the  Indians  become,  after  their  conquest  by  the 
Spaniards,  that  it  would  now  be  easier  to  find  some 
specimens  of  their  ancient  art  in  the  cabinets  of  Eu- 
rope, than  in  Mexico. 

But  of  all  their  works  of  art,  the  most  curious  were 
their  mosaics  in  feathers.  On  this  art  they  highly 


THE    MEXICAN    INDIANS. 


27 


valued  themselves;  and  for  this  purpose  they  reared 
great  numbers  of  birds  of  fine  plumage.  The  execu- 
tion of  this  species  of  mosaic  is  thus  described. 

"  In  undertaking  a  work  of  this  kind,  several  artists 
assembled,  and  after  agreeing  upon  the  design,  they 
fix  upon  the  proportions,  and  each  artist  has  some 
particular  part  of  the  image  assigned  to  him,  and  so 
diligently  did  he  exert  himself,  that  frequently  a 
whole  day  would  be  spent  in  the  adjustment  of  a  sin- 
gle feather,  first  trying  one  and  then  another,  viewing- 
it  sometimes  in  one  way  and  then  another,  until  one 
was  found  that  gave  his  part  the  ideal  perfection  pro- 
posed. When  each  artist  had  completed  his  part,  they 
assembled  to  form  the  entire  image,  and  if  any  part 
happened  to  be  deranged,  it  was  wrought  again,  till 
perfectly  finished.  They  laid  hold  of  the  feathers 
with  small  pincers,  which  did  not  injure  them  in  the 
least;  they  were  pasted  on  cloth  by  some  glutinous 
matter,  and  united  at  all  points  upon  plate  or  copper ; 
the  feathers  were  then  flattened  gently,  until  the 
surface  was  so  equal  and  smooth  that  it  appeared  to 
be  the  work  of  a  pencil.  It  was  wonderful  indeed  to 
see  feathers  producing  the  effect  of  the  pencil,  and  far 
surpassing  it  in  colors ;  a  side  appearance  was  so 
beautiful,  so  lively,  and  so  animated,  that  it  gave  de- 
light to  the  sight,  and  rivalled  the  best  paintings  of 
Spain."  This  art  lingered  after  the  conquest,  and 
persons  could  still  be  found,  who  could  copy  a  painting 
in  feathers  with  wonderful  exactness.  The  last  cele- 
brated artist  in  this  way,  was  Payanam,  but  he  died 
in  1800,  and  the  art  has  perished  with  him. 

There  was  also,  a  kind  of  mosaic  in  shells,  which 


28  THE    MEXICAN    INDIANS. 

is  still  wrought  in  Guatimala.  Imitations  of  mosaic 
were  also  made  of  flowers  and  leaves,  upon  mats, 
which  were  used  at  festivals.  These  continued  to  be 
made,  and  were  eagerly  sought  after  by  the  Spanish 
nobility,  who  settled  in  the  country.  Some  workmen 
skilfully  imitated  with  silk  the  Mexican  mosaic  in 
feathers ;  but  the  latter  was  always  preferred  as  the 
most  brilliant  and  beautiful. 

The  arts  of  cutting  and  polishing  stones  and  gems, 
as  we  have  stated,  were  well  understood.  The  gems 
in  use  then,  were  the  emerald,  amethyst,  carnelian  and 
turquoise.  The  emerald  was  so  common,  as  to  be 
little  valued  by  the  rich  ;  even  the  common  people  had 
them  attached  to  their  lips  when  dead,  to  serve  in  the 
other  world  in  place  of  a  heart. 

When  Cortes  first  returned  to  Spain,  he  carried 
with  him  five  emeralds  which  the  jewellers  valued  at 
100,000  ducats ;  the  first  was  in  the  form  of  a  rose, 
the  second  of  a  horn,  the  third  of  a  little  fish  with 
eyes  of  gold,  the  fourth  in  the  form  of  a  bell,  with  a 
fine  pearl  for  its  clapper ;  the  fifth  was  a  small  cup, 
with  a  foot  of  gold,  and  four  little  golden  chains  uni- 
ted in  a  pearl  in  the  form  of  a  button.  For  this  alone 
the  Genoese  offered  40,000  ducats,  in  order  to  sell 
again  to  the  Grand  Seignor ;  besides  these,  there 
were  two  emerald  vases  valued  at  300,000  ducats, 
which  were  lost  by  shipwreck  in  an  expedition  of 
Charles  5th,  against  Algiers. 

There  are  no  gems  of  such  value  found  or  wrought 
at  the  present  day,  nor  is  it  known  where  the  emerald 
mines  were  There  are  still  extant  some  masses 
of  this  precious  stone ;  among  which  are  two  of  great 


THE    MEXICAN    INDIANS.  29 

value  in  the  churches,  which  the  priests  secure  with 
iron  chains. 

Pielro  Martin  says,  that  "among  the  presents  which 
Cortes  sent  to  Spain,  were  two  helmets  covered  with 
blue  precious  stones,  one  edged  with  golden  belles  and 
many  plates  of  gold,  two  golden  knobbes  sustaining 
the  belies.  The  other  covered  with  the  same  stones, 
but  edged  with  25  golden  belles  crested  with  a  greene 
foule  silting  on  the  top  of  the  helmet,  whose  feet,  bill 
and  eyes  were  all  of  gold  and  several  golden  knobbes 
sustained  every  bell." 

MANUFACTURES. — The  manufacture  of  cloths  of 
various  kinds  was  generally  known  and  extensively 
practised.  Cotton,  silk,  hemp,  hair  and  other  materials 
were  used  in  their  fabrics,  but  no  wool.  In  weaving 
hammocks,  coverlets  and  other  coarse  cloth,  they  were 
accustomed  to  take  up  thread  after  thread,  and  after 
counting  and  sorting  them,  each  time  to  pass  the  warp 
between  them ;  so  that  in  finishing  a  small  piece  of 
these  stuffs,  they  frequently  spent  more  than  two 
years. 

Lint  and  hemp  were  made  from  the  fibrous  part  of 
the  leaves  of  the  aloe.  This  thread  was  sometimes 
of  great  fineness.  The  above  materials  were  often 
mixed  with  fine  down  from  the  bellies  of  rabbits  and 
hares,  and  spun  into  thread.  Beautiful  cloths  and 
winter  waistcoats  for  their  lords,  were  made  in  this 
manner. 

Their  cotton  manufactures  were  equal  to  any  in 

Europe  at  that  time.     Of  feathers  interwoven  with 

cotton,  they  made  mantles,  bed-curtains,  carpets   and 

gowns,  exceedingly   beautiful.     Such    garments    are 

3* 


30  THE    MEXICAN    INDIANS. 

not  now  to  be  found,  unless  in  a  few  instances  among 
the  wealthy  nobles. 

They  manufactured  various  utensils  of  earthen 
ware  for  the  common  purposes  of  domestic  life.  They 
formed  cups  and  vases  of  lacquered  wood,  gaily  col- 
ored. The  cochineal  was  first  used  by  them,  and 
introduced  from  Mexico  into  Europe.  They  had 
plantations  carefully  cultivated,  where  the  little  insect 
that  furnishes  this  brilliant  dye,  was  produced  and 
nourished.  The  colors  imparted  to  their  cloths  were 
exceedingly  brilliant. 

The  Mexicans  understood  the  construction  of  arches 
and  vaults,  and  there  remain  buildings  with  cornices 
and  other  ornaments,  square  and  cylindrical  columns 
adorned  with  figures  in  basso  relievo ;  it  was  their 
great  ambition  to  use  stone  in  architecture. 

Among  their  most  remarkable  works  were  two 
aqueducts  which  conveyed  water  to  the  capital, 
a  distance  of  two  miles.  These  were  constructed 
with  stone  and  cemented — two  feet  high  and  two 
paces  broad — upon  a  road  prepared  for  that  purpose. 

RELIGION. — It  has  been  justly  said  that  "  the  aspect 
of  superstition  in  Mexico  was  gloomy  and  atrocious, 
its  divinities  were  clothed  with  terror,  and  delighted  in 
vengeance."  They  were  exhibited  to  the  people  under 
detestable  forms  which  excited  horror.  -  The  figures 
of  serpents,  tigers  and  other  destructive  animals, 
decorated  their  temples.  Fear  was  the  only  principle 
that  inspired  their  votaries.  Fasts,  mortifications  and 
penances,  all  rigid,  and  many  of  them  excruciating  to 
an  extreme  degree,  were  the  means  employed  to 
appease  the  wrath  of  their  gods.  The  Mexicans 


THE    MEXICAN    INDIANS.  31 

never  approached  their  altars  without  sprinkling  them 
with  blood  drawn  from  their  own  bodies. 

But  of  all  offerings,  human  sacrifices  were  deemed 
most  acceptable.  This  religious  belief  mingling  with 
the  implacable  spirit  of  vengeance  and  adding  new 
force  to  it,  every  captive  taken  in  war  was  brought  to 
the  temple  and  devoted  as  a  victim  to  the  deity,  and 
sacrificed  with  rites  no  less  solemn  than  cruel.  The 
head  and  heart  were  the  portion  consecrated  to  the 
gods;  the  warrior  by  whose  prowess  the  prisoner  had 
been  seized,  carried  off* the  body  to  feast  upon  it  with 
his  friends.  Under  the  impression  of  ideas  so  dreary 
and  terrible,  and  accustomed  daily  to  scenes  of  blood- 
shed, rendered  awful  by  religion,  it  would  seem  that 
the  heart  of  man  must  be  hardened  and  steeled  to 
every  sentiment  of  humanity.  Yet,  we  have  already 
shown,  that,  however  unfeeling  towards  their  enemies, 
among  themselves  many  gentle  sentiments  survived 
the  influence  of  their  atrocious  superstitions. 

Why  it  was  that  religion  assumed  such  a  dread- 
ful form  among  the  Mexicans,  we  have  not  sufficient 
knowledge  of  their  history  to  determine.  But  its 
influence  was  visible,  and  produced  an  effect  that  is 
singular  in  the  human  species.  The  manners  of  the 
people  of  the  New  World  who  had  made  the  greatest 
progress  in  the  arts,  and  who  possessed  many  gentler 
impulses,  were  in  several  respects  the  most  barbarous 
that  have  been  known,  and  some  of  their  customs 
exceeded,  in  this  respect,  even  those  of  the  savage 
state. 

The  Mexicans  had  some  idea,  though  an  imperfect 
one,  of  a  supreme,  absolute  and  independent  being. 


32  THE    MEXICAN    INDIANS. 

They  represented  him  in  no  external  farm,  because 
they  believed  him  to  be  invisible ;  and  they  named 
him  only  by  the  common  appellation  of  God,  or  in 
their  language  Teotl.  They  applied  to  him  certain 
epithets  which  were  highly  expressive  of  the  grandeur 
and  power  which  they  conceived  him  to  possess  ;  Ipal- 
nemoani,  "He  by  whom  we  live," "and  Tloque  Nahu- 
aque,  "  He  who  has  all  in  himself." 

They  distinguished  three  places  for  the  souls  when 
separated  from  the  body.  Those  of  soldiers  who  died 
in  battle  or  in  captivity  among  their  enemies,  and 
those  of  women  who  died  in  childbirth,  went  to  the 
house  of  the  sun, — whom  the  Mexicans  considered 
as  the  prince  of  glory.  Here  they  led  a  life  of  endless 
delight.  Every  day  at  the  first  appearance  of  the 
sun's  rays  the  former  hailed  his  birth  with  rejoicings; 
and  with  music  of  instruments  and  voices,  attended 
him  to  his  meridian.  They  were  then  met  by  the 
souls  of  the  women,  and  with  the  same  festivity  he 
was  accompanied  to  his  setting.  And  it  was  supposed 
that  after  spending  four  years  in  this  way,  these  spir- 
its went  to  animate  the  clouds  or  birds  of  beautiful 
feathers  and  sweet  song ;  these  being  always  at  liberty 
to  rise  to  heaven  or  descend  upon  the  earth,  to  warble 
and. feast  upon  the  flowers. 

The  souls  of  persons  who  were  drowned  or  struck 
by  lightning,  or  who  died  of  wounds,  dropsy,  tumors 
and  other  similar  diseases,  went  with  the  souls  of 
children,  especially  those  which  were  sacrificed  to 
Tlaloc,  the  god  of  water, — to  a  cool  and  delightful 
place  called  Tlalocan,  where  that  god  resided.  Here 
they  enjoyed  the  most  delicious  repasts,  wjth  every 
other  kind  of  pleasure, 


THE    MEXICAN    INDIANS.  «X» 

The  third  place  was  regarded  as  the  residence  of 
the  souls  of  all  others,  and  was  called  Mictlan,  which 
was  deemed  a  place  of  utter  darkness,  in  which  reigned 
a  god  called  Mictlantenetli,  Lord  of  Hell,  and  a  god- 
dess named  Micilancihuatl. 

The  Tlascalans  believed  that  the  sotils  of  chiefs  and 
princes  became  clouds,  or  beautiful  birds,  or  precious 
stones,  whereas  those  of  the  common  people  would 
pass  into  beetles,  rats,  mice,  weasels  and  other  vile  and 
disgusting  animals. 

There  were  three  yearly  sacrifices  to  Tlaloc.  At 
the  first,  two  children  were  drowned  in  the  Lake  of 
Mexico,  but  in  all  the  mountainous  districts,  they  were 
sacrificed  on  the  mountains,  in  which  case  their  bodies 
were  preserved  in  a  stone  chest.  At  the  second  sacri- 
fice, four  children,  from  six  to  seven  years  of  age,  who 
were  bought  by  the  chiefs  for  that  purpose,  were  shut 
up  in  a  cavern  and  left  to  die  of  hunger;  the  cavern 
was  not  opened  till  the  next  year's  sacrifice.  Of  this 
horrid  custom  Southey  gives  a  touching  description. 

"  Half  way  up 

A  cavern  pierced  the  rock,  no  human  foot 
Had  trod  its  depths,  nor  ever  sunbeam  reached 
Its  long  recesses  and  mysterious  gloom. 
To  Tlaloc  it  was  hallowed ;  and  the  stone 
Which  closed  its  entrance  never  was  removed, 
Save  when  the  yearly  festival  returned, 
And  in  its  womb  a  child  was  sepulchred, 
The  living  victim.    Up  the  winding  path 
That  to  the  entrance  of  the  cavern  led, 
With  many  a  painful  step  the  train  ascend, 
But  many  a  time  upon  that  long  ascent 
Young  Hoel  would  have  paused,  with  weariness 
c 


34  THE    MEXICAN    INDIANS. 

Exhausted  now.    They  urge  him  on, — poor  child! 
They  urge  him  on !     *     *     * 

Oh  better  had  he  lived 

Unknowing  and  unknown  on  Arvon's  plain, 
And  trod  upon  his  noble  father's  grave, 
With  peasant  feet  unconcious !     They  have  reached 
The  cavern  now,  and  from  its  mouth  the  priests 
Roll  the  huge  portal. — Thitherward  they  force 
The  son  of  Llaian.     A  cold  air  comes  out ; 
It  chills  him  and  his  feet  recoil ; — in  vain 
His  feet  recoil ; — in  vain  he  turns  to  fly, 
Affrighted  at  the  sudden  gloom  that  spreads 
Around ; — the  den  is  closed,  and  he  is  left 
In  solitude  and  darkness, — left  to  die !  " 

The  third  sacrifice  continued  for  the  three  rainy 
months,  during  which  time,  children  were  offered 
up  on  the  mountains.  The  heart  and  blood  of  these 
were  used  in  sacrifice,  while  the  bodies  were  feasted 
upon  by  the  chiefs  and  priests. 

The  latter  wore  large  white  garments  like  surplices, 
with  hoods,  and  after  a  sacrifice  they  might  be  seen 
with  their  long  matted  hair  dabbled  with  blood. 
They  were  themselves  subjected  to  painful  ceremo- 
nies, and  the  Chololtecas  performed  the  most  severe 
penances  every  four  years.  All  the  priests  sat  round 
the  walls  of  the  temple  holding  censers  in  their  hands ; 
from  this  posture  they  were  not  permitted  to  move, 
except  when  they  went  out  from  necessity.  They 
might  sleep  two  hours  at  the  beginning  of  the  night, 
and  one  hour  after  sunrise;  at  midnight  they  bathed, 
smeared  themselves  with  a  black  unction  and  pricked 
their  ears  to  obtain  blood  for  an  offering;  the  twenty- 
one  remaining  hours  they  sat  in  the  same  posture  offer- 


THE    MEXICAN    INDIANS.  35 

ing  incense  to  the  idol,  and  occasionally  snatching  a 
little  sleep.  These  performances  continued  for  sixty 
days  ;  if  any  one  of  the  priests  slept  beyond  his  time, 
his  companions  pricked  him.  After  the  sixty  days,  the 
ceremony  continued  twenty  more,  though  with  miti- 
gations of  these  severe  duties. 

Historians  differ  much  as  to  the  number  of  human 
sacrifices  yearly  offered,  but  the  smallest  number 
given  is  very  great.  On  the  death  of  a  cacique  or 
any  one  distinguished  among  them,  a  certain  num- 
ber of  his  attendants  were  put  to  death,  that  he  might 
have  them  to  administer  to  him  in  another  world. 
This  sacrifice  was  deemed  so  great  an  honor,  that 
many  offered  themselves  as  victims  for  the  purpose. 
Tlalocatecuhtli,  the  god  of  the  waters  and  lord  of 
Paradise,  as  he  was  called,  was  the  oldest  among  their 
gods.  His  image  was  that  of  a  man  sitting  on  a 
square  seat,  with  a  vessel  before  him,  in  which  were 
specimens  of  all  the  grains  and  fruit  in  the  country, 
to  be  offered  to  him.  This  image  consisted  of  a  kind 
of  pumice  stone  found  on  the  mountains.  One  of 
the  kings  of  Tezcuco  ordered  a  better  idol  to  be  made, 
which  was  destroyed  by  lightning,  and  the  old  one  was 
brought  back  again,  but  one  of  his  arms  being  broken 
in  the  removal,  it  was  fastened  on  with  three  golden 
nails.  In  the  lime  of  bishop  Zumarraga  the  golden 
nails  were  taken  away  and  the  idol  destroyed.  This 
god  of  the  waters  was  said  to  dwell  among  the  moun- 
tains, where  he  collected  the  vapors  and  dispensed 
them  in  rain  and  dew.  A  number  of  inferior  deities 
were  at  his  command. 

The  cave  of  Mistecas  was  sacred  to  this  god  but  its 


36  '   THE    MEXICAN   INDIANS. 

mouth  was  known  only  to  a  few.  In  entering,  it 
was  necessary  to  crawl  for  a  hundred  paces  ;  the  way 
was  then  intricate  for  a  mile.  At  last  the  passage 
terminated  in  the  great  dome,  70  feet  long  and  40 
wide,  where  was  an  idol  formed  of  incrustations  by 
a  spring  of  petrifying  water.  Many  persons  perished 
in  attempting  to  find  this  cave.  A  Spanish  friar  dis- 
covered the  idol  and  destroyed  itr  filling  up  the 
entrance. 

Quetzalcoati*  was  the  god  of  the  winds.  "  Hi» 
•emple  was  circular;  for  as  the  ayre  goeth  rounde  about 
the  heavens,  even  for  that  consideration,  they  made  his 
temple  rounde.  The  entrance  of  that  temple  had  a  dore 
made  lyke  unto  the  mouth  of  a  serpent,  and  was  paynt- 
ed  with  fonle  and  divilish  gestures,  with  great  teeth 
and  gummes  wrought,  which  was  a  thing  to  feare  those 
that  should  enter  thereat,  and  especially  the  Chris- 
tians, unto  whom  it  represented  very  hell  with  that 
ougly  face  and  monsterous  teeth." 

Mexitli  was  another  Mexican  deity,  from  whom 
the  nation  took  their  name.  They  had  a  tradition 
that  during  their  emigration  he  was  carried  before 
them  in  a  seat  called  "the  chair  of  God."  There 
was  a  temple  consecrated  to  him,  "the  floor  of  which," 
says  Bernal  Diaz,  who  was  an  eye-witness,  "was 
flaked  with  blood  and  filled  with  a  putrid  stench." 

The  great  temple  of  Mexico  was  a  huge  square 
mound,  and  was  called  the  great  Cn.  It  had  114 
steps  to  the  summit.  That  at  Tezcuco  had  115  steps. 
That  at  Cholula,  120.  Go!d  and  jewels,  and  the 
different  seeds  of  the  country  were  thrown  in  when 

*  See  "Lives  of  Celebrated  Indians." 


THE    MEXICAN    INDIANS.  37 

the  foundations  of  the  temple  of  Mexico  were  laid. 
When  it  was  afterwards  levelled  by  the  Spaniards,  to 
make  room  for  a  church,  these  treasures  were  found. 

It  is  related  by  Bernal  Diaz,  "that  they  had  in  their 
temple  an  exceeding  large  drum,  and  when  they  beat 
it  the  sound  was  such,  and  so  dismal,  that  it  was  like 
an  instrument  of  hell,  and  was  heard  for  more  than  two 
leagues  round.  They  said  that  the  cover  of  that  drum 
was  made  of  the  skin  of  huge  serpents."  He  also  gives 
a  terrific  account  of  their  temple  serpents.  "The 
head  of  a  sacrificed  person  was  strung  up ;  the  limbs 
eaten  at  the  feast;  the  body  given  to  the  wild  beasts 
which  were  kept  within  the  temple  circuits;  moreover, 
in  that  accursed  house  they  kept  vipers  and  venomous 
snakes,  who  had  something  at  their  tails,  which 
sounded  like  morris  bells,  and  they  are  the  worst  of 
all  vipers;  these  were  kept  in  cradles  and  barrels  and 
earthen  vessels,  upon  feathers,  and  there  they  laid 
their  eggs  and  nursed  up  their  snakelings,  and  there 
they  were  fed  with  the  bodies  of  the  sacrificed  and 
with  dogs'  flesh.  We  learnt  for  certain,  that  after 
they  had  driven  us  from  Mexico  and  slain  above  850 
of  our  soldiers  and  of  the  men  of  Narvaez,  to  be 
offered  to  their  cruel  idol,  these  beasts  and  snakes  were 
supported  upon  their  bodies  for  many  days.  When 
the  lions  and  tigers  roared,  and  the  jackalls  and  foxes 
howled  and  the  snakes  hissed,  it  was  a  grim  thing  to 
hear  them  and  it  seemed  like  hell." 

Before    the   Mexican   temples  were    large   courts, 

kept  neat  and  clean,  and  planted  with  trees  which 

were  green  throughout  the  year.     These   bestowed  a 

pleasant  shade,  and  here  the  priests  sat  and  awaited 

v.-4 


39  THE    MEXICAN    INDIANS. 

those  who  came  to  make  offerings  and  sacrifice  to  the 
idol.  The  mother  of  Mexitli  was  a  mortal  woman, 
but  for  her  son's  sake  she  was  made  immortal,  and 
appointed  goddess  of  all  herbs,  flowers  and  trees. 
The  following  was  their  tradition  concerning  her  as 
given  in  the  words  of  the  poet  Southey. 

"  She  at  eve 

Walked  in  the  temple  court,  and  saw  from  heaven 
A  plume  descend  as  bright  and  beautiful 
As  if  some  spirit  had  embodied  there 
The  rainbow  hues,  or  dipped  it  in  the  light  of  setting  suns. 
To  her  it  floated  down,  she  placed  it  in  her  bosom,  to  bedeck 
The  altar  of  ihe  god.     She  sought  it  there ; 
Amazed  she  found  it  not, — amazed  she  felt 
Another  life  infused." 

In  many  of  the  religious  rites  and  ceremonies  of 
the  ancient  Mexicans,  we  see  resemblances  to  those  of 
the  Greeks  and  Romans,  the  Mussulmans,  the  Tartars, 
and  the  Catholics;  but  the  most  singular  coincidence 
is  that  in  their  baptism.  In  naming  their  infant  chil- 
dren, they  sprinkled  the  lip  and  bosom  with  water,  and 
the  "  Lord  was  implored  to  permit  the  holy  drops  to 
wash  away  the  sin  that  was  given  before  the  founda- 
tion of  the  world — and  that  the  child  might  be  born 
anew!"  Their  prayers,  in  which  they  used  regular 
forms,  also  remind  us  of  Christian  morals,  in  passages 
Like  these  :  "  Wilt  thou  blot  us  out,  O  Lord,  forever? 
Is  thy  punishment  intended,  not  for  our  reformation,  but 
our  destruction  ?"  "  Impart  to  us,  out  of  thy  great 
mercy,  the  gifts  which  we  are  not  worthy  to  receive, 
through  our  own  merits."  "Keep  peace  with  all: 
bear  injuries  with  humility,  for  God,  who  sees,  will 
avenge  you." 


THE    MEXICAN   INDIANS. 


39 


The  influence  of  the  priesthood  was  not  only  great, 
chrough  the  reverence  they  inspired,  but  also  by  their 
numbers.  No  less  than  5000  were  attached  to  the 
chief  temple  of  the  capital. 


WAR,  &c. — It  is  not  surprising  from  this  view  of 
their  religion  that  the  Mexicans  should  have  been 
ferocious  in  war.  The  four  most  honorable  titles  among 
their  soldiers  were  "  The  Tiger  of  the  War,"  "  Shed- 
der  of  Blood,"  "Destroyer  of  Men,"  and  "Lord  of 
the  Dark  House." 

Gomarra  thus  describes  the  Tlascalan  army,  which 
may  also  apply  to  the  Mexican  troops.  "They  were 
trimme  fellowes,  and  wel  armed  according  to  their 
use  although  they  were  paynted  so  that  their  face? 
shewed  like  divels  with  great  tuffes  of  feathers  and 
triumphed  gallantly.  They  had  also  slinges,  staves, 
spears,  swordos,  bo\ves  and  arrowes,  skulles,  splinters, 
gantlettes,  all  of  wood,  giite,  or  else  covered  with 


40  THE    MEXICAN    INDIANS. 

feathers  or  leather ;  their  corslets  were  made  of  cotton 
woole,  their  targettes  and  bucklers,  gallant  and  strong, 
made  of  woode  covered  with  leather  and  trimmed  with 
cotton  and  feathers ;  theyr  swordes  were  staves  with 
an  edge  of  flint  stone,  cunningly  joyned  into  the  staff 
which  would  cutte  very  well  and  make  a  sore  wound. 


Theyr  instruments  of  music  were  hunter's  horns,  and 
drummes  called  attabals  made  like  a  caldron  and  cov- 
ered with  vellum."  The  dress  of  the  higher  warriors 
among  the  Mexicans,  was  picturesque,  and  sometimes 
magnificent.  Their  bodies  were  covered  with  a  vest 
of  thick  quilted  cotton,  sufficient  to  resist  the  slight 
missiles  of  Indian  warfare.  This  was  found  so  ser- 
viceable as  to  be  adopted  by  the  Spaniards.  The 
wealthier  chiefs  sometimes  wore  a  cuirass  of  gold  or 
silver,  instead  of  this  cotton  quilt.  Over  this  was 
thrown  a  garment  made  of  the  gorgeous  feather-work 
which  we  have  described.  Then  helmets  were  of 


THE    MEXICAN   INDIANS.  41 

wood,  fashioned  like  the  heads  of  wild  animals,  or  of 
silver,  on  the  top  of  which  waved  a  bunch  of  plumes, 
sprinkled  with  precious  stones  and  ornaments  of  gold. 
The  armies  of  the  country  were  formed  into  divisions 
of  8000  men,  and  these  into  companies  of  three  or 
four  hundred  each  with  its  own  commander. 

The  Tlaxcaltecas  had  two  arrows  which  they  regard- 
ed with  great  reverence  and  used  as  means  of  pre- 
dicting the  event  of  a  battle.  Two  of  their  bravest 
chiefs  were  to  shoot  them  at  the  enemy  and  recover 
them,  or  die.  If  the  arrows  struck  and  killed  or 
wounded,  it  was  held  to  be  an  omen  that  the  fight 
would  be  prosperous,  but  if  they  neither  struck  nor 
drew  blood,  the  army  retired. 

The  national  standard  of  Mexico  exhibited  the 
armorial  ensigns  of  the  state,  wrought  in  gold  and 
feathers.  The  companies  and  greater  chiefs  had  also 
their  particular  banners.  The  army  in  marching  thus 
gorgeously  decorated,  exhibited  a  splendid  and  daz- 
zling appearance  to  the  beholder.  The  soldiers  ad- 
vanced briskly  to  the  attack,  singing  and  shouting  their 
war-cries.  They  often  retreated,  and  returned  again 
upon  the  enemy.  They  did  not  sustain  a  firm  and 
regular  charge,  but  were  much  addicted  to  ambuscades 
and  sudden  surprises.  In  marching,  they  moved  for- 
ward gaily,  but  in  good  order.  In  battle,  they  sought 
rather  to  capture  than  to  kill  their  enemies.  They 
never  scalped,  like  the  northern  tribes,  and  a  warrior's 
valor  was  estimated  only  by  the  number  of  his  pris- 
oners. 

Although  their  prisoners  were  not  put  to  death  with 
aggravated  bodily  torture,  it  was  a  refinement  of  cru- 
4» 


42  THE    MEXICAN   INDIANS. 

elty  among  them  to  attach  them  to  life  by  feastings 
and  caresses,  with  maidens  to  wait  upon  them,  while 
their  doom  was  irrevocable.  At  the  day  appointed  for 
their  death,  they  were  despatched  by  a  single  blow. 
The  people  then  feasted  upon  the  bodies,  and  be- 
smeared their  children  with  the  blood  of  the  slain  to 
kindle  in  their  bosoms  hatred  for  their  enemies.  Some 
of  the  principal  warriors  covered  themselves  with  the 
skins  of  the  slain  and  danced  before  the  people,  exult- 
ing over  their  enemies.  In  some  provinces  they 
covered  their  drums  with  the  skins  of  their  captives, 
thinking  that  when  the  kindred  of  the  slain  heard 
the  sound  of  these,  they  would  immediately  be  seized 
with  fear  and  take  to  flight. 

Their  military  code  bore  the  same  stern  features  as 
their  other  laws.  Disobedience  of  orders,  desertion 
of  colors,  attacking  the  enemy  before  the  signal  was 
given,  and  plunder  of  another's  booty,  were  all  pun- 
ished with  death.  \Ve  must  not  omit  to  mention  their 
hospitals  for  the  sick  and  wounded  soldiers.  These 
were  established  in  the  principal  cities,  and  were 
attended  by  the  ablest  surgeons.  It  is  remarkable  to 
find  such  institutions  in  this  country,  long  before  they 
had  been  adopted  in  civilized  Europe. 

GOVERNMENT. — On  the  arrival  of  Cortes,  Mexico 
was  the  leading  power  from  the  Atlantic  to  the 
Pacific,  exercising  over  the  several  states  either  a 
partial  or  complete  dominion.  Its  government  atthat 
period  was  an  elective  monarchy,  four  principal  nobles 
constituting  the  electors,  and  the  choice  being  con- 
fined to  the  brothers  or  nephews  of  the  last  prince. 
The  candidates  received  an  education  suited  to  their 


THE    MEXICAN    INDIANS. 


43 


A  Mexican  chief,  or  cacique. 

royal  dignity,  and  one  who  had  distinguished  himself 
in  war  was  always  preferred. 

The  new  monarch  was  installed  with  great  parade 
and  ceremony.  The  captives  he  had  taken  in  war, 
graced  his  triumphal  entry  into  the  city,  and  furnished 
victims  for  the  bloody  rites  which  signalized  his  coro- 
nation. Amid  the  pomp  of  human  sacrifices,  a  crown 
ornamented  with  gold,  gems  and  feathers,  was  placed 
on  his  head  by  the  lord  of  Tezcuco.  He  received  the 
title  of  emperor  to  indicate  his  superiority,  even  over 
the  confederate  monarchies  of  Tlacopan  and  Tezcuco. 
The  Aztec  princes  lived  in  a  state  of  oriental  pomp. 


14  THE    MEXICAN   INDIANS. 

They  were  attended  by  a  numerous  council,  who  aided 
the  monarch  in  the  transaction  of  business,  and  were 
surrounded  by  an  extensive  body  guard,  made  up  of 
the  chief  nobility. 

The  people  were  divided  into  several  orders.  There 
was  not  only  a  class  of  nobles  with  large  landed  estates, 
but  there  were  also  chieftains,  who  held  extensive  estates 
and  lived  like  independent  princes  on  their  own  do- 
mains, and  appear,  like  the  feudatory  barons  of 
Europe  in  former  days,  to  have  held  their  privileges 
apon  condition  of  rendering  military  services  to  the 
crown.  It  would  seem  that  there  were  about  thirty  of 
these  great  caciques,  each  of  whom  could  muster 
100,000  vassals.  They  were  required  to  live  at  least 
a^part  of  the  year  in  the  capital.  The  legislative 
power  resided  wholly  in  the  monarch,  who  held  his 
office  for  life.  Each  city  had  a  supreme  judge,  from 
whose  decision  there  was  no  appeal.  There  were  also 
inferior  courts,  of  various  degrees,  and  magistrates 
appointed  to  watch  over  the  conduct  of  the  people  and 
report  to  the  higher  authorities.  Every  eighty  years 
all  the  judges  were  assembled  in  the  capital,  for  the 
final  adjudication  of  important  suits.  Over  this  body 
the  king  presided  in  person.  On  the  whole,  justice 
appears  to  have  been  well  administered,  and  we  cannot 
but  look  with  admiration  upon  many  of  the  features 
which  belong  to  the  civil  institutions  of  this  people. 

Corruption  in  a 'judge  was  punished  with  death. 
At  his  trial,  the  king  presided.  The  proceedings  in 
the  courts  were  conducted  with  decency  and  order. 
No  counsel  was  employed,  the  parties  managing  their 
own  case.  The  oath  of  both  plaintiff  and  defendant 


THE    MEXICAN    INDIANS.  45 

was  admitted  in  evidence.  After  the  testimony  was 
given  in,  the  whole  case  was  laid  before  the  court,  by 
the  clerk,  in  emblematic  paintings.  These  were  exe- 
cuted with  such  precision  and  fidelity  that  in  suits 
respecting  real  estate,  they  were  long  after  produced 
as  good  authority  in  the  Spanish  tribunals.  When  a 
sentence  of  death  was  decreed  by  the  court,  it  was 
recorded  by  a  portrait  of  the  convict  with  an  arrow 
drawn  across  it. 

The  laws  of  the  Aztecs  were  registered  and  exhib- 
ited to  the  people  in  hieroglyphical  paintings.  All 
the  great  crimes  against  society  were  capital.  Mur- 
der even  of  a  slave  was  punished  with  death.  Adul- 
terers, as  among  the  Jews,  were  stoned.  The  pun- 
ishment of  thievery  was  slavery  or  death.  Prodigality, 
intemperance,  and  various  other  misdemeanors,  were 
visited  with  the  severest  penalties. 

The  marriage  rites  were  celebrated  with  great  for- 
mality, and  the  institution  was  held  in  equal  reverence. 
Prisoners  taken  in  war  were  reserved  for  sacrifice- 
Criminals  and  public  debtors  were  made  slaves.  Per- 
sons in  extreme  poverty  sold  themselves  and  even 
their  children  into  slavery.  The  services  exacted  from 
the  slave  were  limited.  He  was  permitted  to  have  his 
own  family,  to  hold  property,  and  even  other  slaves. 
His  children  were  free — a  favorable  distinction  known 
in  no  civilized  land  where  slavery  is  permitted. 

The  royal  revenues  were  derived  from  crowrn  lands, 
which  were  extensive,  and  taxes  upon  the  agricultural 
and  manufacturing  products,  which  were  paid  in  kind. 
Among  the  articles  received  by  the  king,  were  cotton 
dresses,  mantles  of  feather-work,  ornamented  armor, 


46  THE   MEXICAN   INDIANS. 

gold  dust,  bands  and  bracelets,  jars  and  goblets,  bells, 
arrows,  paper,  grain,  fruits,  copal,  amber,  cochineal, 
cacao,  birds,  wild  animals,  timber,  lime,  mats,  &c. 
The  more  wealthy  chiefs  were  also  required  to  pay 
various  kinds  of  tribute. 

Garrisons  were  established  in  the  larger  cities,  and 
tax-gatherers  were  distributed  throughout  the  king- 
dom. Couriers  conveyed  information  from  one  ex- 
tremity of  the  country  to  the  other :  there  were  post- 
houses  on  the  great  roads,  at  convenient  distances. 
The  courier  bore  his  hieroglyphic  despatches  from  one 
to  another  of  these.  Here  it  was  taken  by  another 
messenger,  and  thus  it  was  conveyed  to  its  destination. 
These  couriers,  trained  from  childhood,  ran  with 
incredible  swiftness — sometimes  twelve  or  fifteen  miles 
an  hour.  We  are  told  that  despatches  were  carried 
200  miles  in  a  day. 

The  profession  of  arms  ranked  with  that  of  the 
priesthood.  There  were  various  military  orders,  and 
an  inferior  kind  of  knighthood.  Questions  of  war 
were  discussed  in  a  council  by  the  king  and  his  chief 
nobles.  Ambassadors  were  every  where  entertained 
at  the  public  charge,  and  their  persons  held  sacred. 
Religion  was  an  institution  of  state.  The  temples 
and  the  priesthood  were  sustained  by  the  government. 
There  were  extensive  church-lands,  throughout  every 
district  of  the  empire.  This  property  was  managed 
by  the  priests,  who  also  received  rich  gifts  dictated  by 
superstition.  The  excess  beyond  what  was  required 
by  the  priesthood,  was  distributed  among  the  poor. 
Thus  we  see  in  the  Mexican  religion,  the  most  contra- 
dictory qualities ;  a  gentle  charity,  dispensing  its 


THE    MEXICAN    INDIANS.  47 

blessings  to  the  unfortunate,  with  the  superstition 
which  delighted  in  the  revolting  spectacle  of  human 
sacrifices. 

EDUCATION*. — This  subject  appears  to  have  received 
great  attention  among  the  Mexicans.  The  children 
of  both  sexes  were  placed  under  the  care  of  the  priest- 
hood at  an  early  age.  Buildings  within  the  enclosures 
of  the  temples  were  provided  for  their  accommodation. 
Under  the  care  of  priests  the  boys  were  drilled  in  the 
routine  of  monastic  discipline.  They  decorated  the 
altars  of  the  gods  with  flowers,  fed  the  sacred  fires 
and'  took  part  in  the  religious  chants  and  festivals. 
Those  in  the  higher  school  were  taught  the  traditions 
of  the  country ;  hieroglyphics,  government,  astronomy 
and  natural  science. 

The  girls,  intrusted  to  the  care  of  priestesses, 
learned  to  weave  and  embroider  coverings  for  the 
altars  and  other  feminine  duties.  The  utmost  deco- 
rum prevailed,  and  ofiences  were  rigorously  punished. 
Fear,  not  love,  was  the  inspiring  principle  of  educa- 
tion in  these  institutions. 

Such  was  the  training  of  the  higher  and  middling1 
classes,  at  institutions  of  a  monastic  character,  the 
purpose  and  tendency  of  which,  was  to  establish  a 
reverence  for  the  religion  of  the  country  in  the  minds 
of  the  leading  people.  At  the  age  of  maturity,  the 
pupils  were  dismissed  with  much  ceremony  from  the 
convent,  and  the  recommendation  of  the  principal, 
often  introduced  them  to  important  stations. 

In  respect  to  the  children  of  other  classes,  it  may 
be  stated,  generally,  that  parents  are  said  to  have  been 
indefatigable  in  teaching  their  children  the  history  of 


48  THE    MEXICAN   INDIANS. 

their  nation,  and  to  have  made  them  learn  speeches, 
discourses  and  songs  relating  to  it.  Picture-writing 
was  their  mode  of  recording  history,  and  their  tradi- 
tions explained  the  hieroglyphical  representations, 
which  would  otherwise  have  been  unintelligible.  In 
this  way  were  perpetuated  the  memorable  deeds  of 
heroes,  striking  examples  of  virtue,  mythological  rites, 
laws  and  customs. 


Bajiana  and  cacao  trees. 

AGRICULTURE  AND  PRODUCTS. — Nearly  all  the  North 
American  tribes  cultivated  the  soil  to  some  extent. 
Wherever  a  small  opening  was  found  between  the 
forests,  they  planted  maize  and  beans;  yet  their  hus- 
bandry was  slovenly  in  the  extreme.  It  was  other- 
wise in  Mexico.  For  here  agriculture  had  made  the 


THE    MEXICAN    INDIANS.  49 

same  advance  as  the  other  arts  of  life.  It  was  indeed 
greatly  respected,  and  was  blended  with  the  civil  and 
religious  institutions  of  the  country.  There  were 
deities  to  preside  over  it,  and  festivals  having  refer- 
ence to  it.  Taxes  were  often  paid  in  agricultural 
produce.  All  except  the  soldiers  and  great  nobles 
toiled  in  the  field ;  the  men  performing  the  hard  labor, 
and  the  women  the  lighter  tasks, — as  scattering  the 
seed,  husking  the  corn,  &.c. 

The  grounds  were  tilled  with  judgment;  the 
exhausted  soil  being  permitted  to  lie  fallow  and  the 
dry  grounds  irrigated  by  artificial  canals.  The  de- 
struction of  woods  was  severely  punished,  and  ample 
granaries  were  provided  for  the  harvest. 

Among  their  productions  we  may  notice  the  exu- 
berant banana,  the  cacao,  from  which  they  made  their 
chocolate,  and  the  vanilla,  with  which  they  flavored 
their  food  and  drink.  Their  great  staple  was  the 
maize,  of  which  they  understood  the  manifold  uses. 
It  grew  with  great  luxuriance,  and  from  this  instead 
of  the  cane  they  extracted  their  sugar.  But  "the 
miracle  of  nature,"  was  the  Mexican  aloe  or  maguey, 
whose  pyramids  of  flowers  were  seen  spreading  over 
many  a  broad  acre  in  the  country.  "  Never,"  says 
Mr.  Prescott,  "  did  nature  enclose  in  so  compact  a 
form,  so  many  of  the  elements  of  human  comfort  and 
civilization,  as  in  this  plant.  It  was  meat,  drink, 
clothing  and  writing  material  to  the  Mexicans.  It 
afforded  a  paste  of  which  their  paper  was  made.  Its 
fermented  juice  furnished  pulque,  their  favorite  bever- 
age. Its  leaves  supplied  a  thatch  for  their  humbler 
dwellings.  Thread  and  cord  were  made  of  its  fibres, 

D  V. — 5 


50  THE    MEXICAN    INDIANS. 

pins  and  needles  of  its  thorns,  and  bread  was  formed 
of  its  roots." 

The  Mexicans  were  well  acquainted  with  the  rich 
fruits  and  gorgeous  flowers  which  belonged  to  their 
prolific  climate.  These  were  systematically  arranged 
by  the  people,  according  to  their  qualities,  and  exten- 
sive nurseries  existed  for  their  cultivation.  It  is  sup- 
posed that  these  suggested  those  "  gardens  of  plants," 
which  have  been  subsequently  introduced  into  Europe. 

The  Mexicans  appear  to  haye  had  great  skill  in 
horticulture,  whether  of  the  useful  or  ornamental  kind. 
Around  the  margin  of  the  Lake  of  Tezcuco,  there 
were  floating  gardens,  which  particularly  excited  the 
adroiration  of  the  Spaniards.  These  consisted  of 
scows  or  rafts,  formed  of  reeds,  rushes  and  other 
fibrous  materials,  firmly  woven  together,  and  covered 
with  rich  earth  drawn  up  from  the  bottom  of  the  lake. 
They  were  frequently  two  or  three  hundred  feet  long, 
and  afforded  a  sufficient  soil  for  raising  flowers  and 
vegetables  for  the  market  of  the  city,  and  even,  in 
many  cases,  trees  of  considerable  size  grew  upon  them. 
Often,  too,  the  Indian  built  his  slight  dwelling  of  reeds 
upon  this  floating  territory,  and  here  he  lived  with  his 
family.  If  he  desired  to  change  his  position,  he  was 
able  to  do  it  by  pushing  with  a  pole  against  the  bottom 
of  the  shallow  lake;  and  thus  these  gardens  were 
often  seen  moving  like  enchanted  islands  over  the 
level  bosom  of  the  water.  As  Cortes  and  his  men 
approached  the  city  of  Mexico  across  the  great  dike 
that  led  through  the  lake  from  the  south,  they  looked 
with  mingled  curiosity  and  amazement  on  these  fairy 
islands,  undulating  with  the  tide,  or  gliding  over  its 


THE    MEXICAN   INDIANS.  51 

surface,  and  with  their  busy  and  thronging  population, 
giving  the  whole  scene  an  aspect  of  enchantment. 

Nor  were  the  more  sumptuous  gardens  of  the  rich 
objects  of  less  interest  and  curiosity.  Not  only  in  the 
city  of  Mexico,  but  in  other  places,  persons  of  wealth 
appear  to  have  taken  great  delight  in  surrounding 
their  dwellings  with  the  choicest  products  of  the  vege- 
table kingdom.  On  approaching  Mexico,  Cortes  and 
his  army  were  entertained  by  the  brother  of  Monte- 
zuma  at  Iztapalapan,  a  city  on  the  Lake  of  Tezcuco, 
distant  only  a  few  miles  from  the  capital.  His  gar- 
dens are  described  as  covering  a  great  extent,  and 
being  laid  out  in  regular  squares,  with  neat  walks, 
bordered  by  trellises  supporting  creeping  plants  and 
aromatic  shrubs,  which  loaded  the  air  Avith  perfumes. 
It  was  stocked  with  fruit  trees  from  wanner  climates, 
and  a  great  variety  of  flowering  plants,  scientifically 
arranged,  were  seen  blooming  on  every  side.  The 
arid  soil  was  watered  by  canals  running  through  every 
part  of  the  land,  and  a  canal  was  cut  affording  a  com- 
munication with  the  lake. 

Nor  were  these  the  only  objects  that  excited  sur- 
prise and  admiration.  In  this  lovely  spot  there  was 
an  aviary  filled  with  birds  of  brilliant  plumage,  and 
an  artificial  basin  of  water,  nearly  a  mile  in  cir- 
cuit, filled  with  every  variety  of  fish.  Its  sides  were 
faced  with  stone  curiously  sculptured,  and  a  walk  also 
made  of  stone,  encircled  it,  of  sufficient  width  for  four 
persons  to  walk  abreast.  Such  was  the  earden  of  Iz- 
tapalapan when  the  conqueror  approached  the  city  of 
Mexico:  but  a  few  years  had  passed,  however,  before 
the  city,  which  was  populous,  as  well  as  these  won- 


52  THE    MEXICAN    INDIANS. 

derful  gardens  were  a  heap  of  ruins.  The  stranger 
now  visiting  the  spot,  will  find  it  a  loathsome  morass, 
where,  amid  the  fragments  of  noble  edifices  that  once 
excited  the  admiration  of  the  beholder,  hideous  reptiles 
of  various  forms  find  an  undisturbed  retreat. 

TRADE  AND  COMMERCE. — The  fifth  day  of  each 
week  was  fair  day,  on  which  occasion,  articles  of 
every  kind  were  brought  to  market,  and  exhibited  in  a 
great  square  for  sale.  These  fairs  were  attended  by 
buyers  and  sellers,  and  as  there  were  no  shops,  not 
only  agricultural  products,  but  every  species  of  manu- 
facture was  offered  to  the  purchasers.  A  particular 
quarter  was  assigned  for  each  kind  of  article,  and  all 
the  transactions  being  regulated  by  magistrates,  were 
conducted  with  order  and  fairness. 

The  traffic  was  carried  on  partly  by  barter,  and 
partly  by  means  of  a  regulated  currency  of  different 
values.  This  consisted  of  quills  of  gold  dust,  bits  of 
tin  in  the  form  of  a  T,  and  bags  of  cacao  containing 
a  certain  number  of  grains. 

Trade  was  held  in  estimation,  and  the  occupation  of 
a  merchant  was  particularly  respected.  The  Mexican 
merchant  went  from  place  to  place,  often  extending 
his  excursions  not  only  to  the  frontiers  of  Anahuac, 
but  to  other  countries.  He  dealt  in  rich  stuffs,  jew- 
els, slaves  and  other  valuable  commodities,  all  of 
which  he  carried  with  him  in  the  fashion  of  an  east- 
ern merchant.  At  Azapozalco,  a  few  miles  from 
Mexico,  was  a  great  slave  market,  where  the  slaves 
were  exhibited,  dressed  in  the.  gayest  attire,  and  made 
to  dance  and  sing,  and  display  themselves  in  a  man- 
ner to  attract  the  attention  of  dealers.  Slave  dealing 
rras  an  honorablo  calling  among  the  Mexicans. 


THE    MEXICAN    INDIANS.  63 

The  merchants  went  in  caravans,  on  foot,  attended 
by  their  slaves  and  several  assistants.  Each  man 
carried  a  load  of  fifty  pounds.  Sometimes  the  number 
was  several  hundreds,  and  if  the  party  was  attacked, 
they  made  a  formidable  resistance.  Great  privileges 
were  allowed  to  the  merchants  by  the  sovereign,  who 
often  employed  them  as  spies,  and  not  un frequently 
consulted  them  on  matters  of  public  importance. 
Thus  the  profession  of  a  merchant  was  not  only  the 
path  to  wealth,  but  also  to  political  preferment. 

SCIENCE  AND  LEARNING. — The  picture-writing  of 
the  Mexicans  was  executed  with  some  neatness,  and  in 
its  invention  displayed  no  little  mental  effort.  The  pic- 
tures were  symbolical ;  a  tongue  denoted  speaking,  a 
foot-print,  travelling,  &c.  The  symbols,  however,  were 
often  arbitrary:  as,  a  man  sitting  on  the  ground  signi- 
fied an  earthquake.  There  were  also  phonetic  signs  : 
or  those  which  derived  their  meaning  from  sounds,  as 
in  our  language.  The  names  of  persons  were  often 
significant  of  their  character  and  adventures,  as  with 
the  North  American  Indians.  Still  more  frequently 
they  resorted  to  direct  pictures  of  things. 

By  these  several  modes,  they  recorded  their  laws, 
tax-rolls,  calendars  and  rituals,  and  their  political 
annals  carried  back  to  a  remote  period.  They  had 
also  a  complete  system  of  chronology,  and  could  spe- 
cify with  accuracy  the  dates  of  important  events. 
These  records  were,  however,  interpreted  by  their  oral 
traditions,  the  acquisition  of  which,  constituted  a  large 
part  of  education.  In  the  college  of  the  priests,  the 
pupils  were  instructed  in  these  various  branches  of 
science,  and  some  of  them  were  regularly  brought  up 
5* 


54  THE    MEXICAN    INDIANS. 

in  the  profession  of  picture-writing.  They  had  numer- 
ous historical,  chronological  and  religious  works,  which, 
together  with  the  traditions,  constituted  their  literature. 

Their  manuscripts  were  of  cotton  cloth,  skins,  silk 
prepared  with  gum,  and  a  juice  from  the  leaves  of 
the  aloe.  This  last  resembled  the  papyrus  of  antiquity, 
and  was  even  more  soft  and  beautiful  than  parchment. 
Some  specimens  still  existing,  exhibit  all  the  original 
brilliancy  of  the  painting.  They  were  sometimes 
done  up  in  rolls,  but  more  frequently  in  folds,  and 
enclosed  between  tablets  of  wood,  which  gave  them 
the  appearance  of  books.  These  manuscripts  were 
very  numerous,  and  had  they  been  preserved,  Mexican 
history  and  literature  would  have  been  fully  under- 
stood. But  unhappily  the  Spaniards  regarded  them 
as  magic  scrolls,  and  the  priests  ordered  them  to  be 
burned.  The  soldiers  imitated  this  example,  and 
every  volume  that  fell  into  their  hands  was  destroyed. 
A  few  have  been  preserved  and  are  scattered  among 
the  libraries  of  Europe. 

The  traditions  of  the  country  were  embodied  in 
songs  and  hymns,  and  were  sedulously  taught  in 
schools.  These  embraced  the  legends  of  their  heroes, 
blended  with  softer  passages  of  love  and  pleasure. 
Many  were  composed  by  scholars  and  persons  of  rank, 
and  the  events  they  commemorated  were  regarded  as 
authentic.  Of  these,  only  a  few  poetic  odes  have 
come  down  to  us.  The  translations  with  which  we 
are  furnished  of  their  prayers  and  public  discourses, 
give  a  favorable  idea  of  their  eloquence.  They 
had  theatrical  pantomimes,  in  which  the  faces  of  the 
performers  were  marked. 


THE    MEXICAN   INDIANS.  65 

Their  science,  however,  greatly  eclipsed  their  liter- 
ature. They  had  a  very  simple  and  convenient 
arithmetic ;  large  sums  were  reckoned  by  twenties ; 
the  square  of  twenty  or  four  hundred,  was  represented 
by  a  plume ;  the  cube  of  twenty  or  eight  thousand,  by 
a  purse :  half  or  three  quarters  of  a  plume  represented 
those  portions  of  four  hundred ;  and  the  same  may  be 
said  of  the  purse.  The  year  was  divided  into  eighteen 
months,  of  twenty  days  each ;  five  days  were  added, 
as  in  Ancient  Egypt,  to  make  the  complement  of  365. 
These  five  days  belonged  to  no  month,  and  were 
reckoned  as  unlucky.  The  month  was  divided  into 
four  weeks,  of  five  days  each,  the  last  being  market- 
day.  To  make  up  the  period  of  six  hours,  which  was 
lost  by  their  reckoning  each  year,  they  resorted  to 
the  intercalation  of  twenty-five  days  in  even,"  104 
years.  This  arrangement  shows  an  astonishing  pre- 
cision in  adjusting  their  civil  to  solar  time  ;  and  in  this 
respect,  surpassed  any  European  calendar  of  that  period. 

This  surprising  fact  is  accompanied  by  others  in 
their  chronology.  The  epoch  from  which  they  reck- 
oned, coincided  with  the  year  1091  of  the  Chris- 
tian era.  Cycles  of  fifty-two  years  each,  were  called 
sheafs,  and  represented  by  bundles  of  sticks.  The 
priests  had  a  lunar  calendar  by  which  they  regulated 
their  festivals,  sacrifices  and  astrological  calculations. 
The  latter  were  founded  less  upon  planetary  influences, 
than  upon  the  arbitrary  signs  of  the  months,  and  were 
the  means  by  which  the  attempt  was  made  to  pene- 
trate the  mysterious  veil  of  the  future.  In  no  country 
have  the  dreams  of  the  astrologer  been  regarded  with 
more  implicit  reverence.  At  the  birth  of  an  infant,  he 


56  THE    MEXICAN    INDIANS. 

was  called  to  cast  its  horoscope,  and  the  family  hung 
in  trembling  suspense,  while  he  was  supposed  to 
unroll  the  dark  volume  of  destiny.  The  Mexicans 
were  acquainted  with  the  cause  of  eclipses,  and  recog- 
nized some  of  the  constellations.  They  used  the  dial; 
and  the  calendar-stone  disinterred  in  1790,  as  \ve  have 
already  related,  shows  that  they  had  the  means  of 
determining  the  precise  hour  of  the  day,  the  periods 
of  the  solstices,  the  equinoxes,  and  the  passage  of  the 
sun  across  the  zenith  of  Mexico. 

We  cannot  better  conclude  our  account  of  Mexican 
science,  than  by  an  extract  from  Mr.  Prescott's  work, 
to  which  we  are  largely  indebted  for  the  preceding 
sketch,  giving  a  description  of  the  remarkable  festival 
held  at  the  termination  of  the  great  cycle  of  52  years. 
"  We  have  seen,  in  the  preceding  chapter,  their  tradi- 
tion of  the  destruction  of  the  world,  at  four  successive 
epochs.  They  looked  forward  confidently  to  another 
such  catastrophe,  to  take  place  like  the  preceding  at 
the  close  of  a  cycle,  when  the  sun  was  to  be  effaced 
from  the  heavens,  the  human  race  from  the  earth,  and 
when  the  darkness  of  chaos  was  to  settle  on  the  hab- 
itable globe.  The  cycle  would  end  in  the  latter  part 
of  December,  and  as  the  dreary  season  of  the  winter 
solstice  approached,  and  the  diminished  light  of  day 
gave  melancholy  presage  of  its  speedy  extinction,  their 
apprehensions  increased;  and  on  the  arrival  of  the 
five  "  unlucky"  days  which  closed  the  year,  they  aban- 
doned themselves  to  despair.  They  broke  in  pieces 
the  little  images  of  their  household  gods  in  whom  they 
no  longer  trusted.  The  holy  fires  were  suffered  to  go 
out  in  the  temples,  and  none  were  lighted  in  their  own 


THE    MEXICAN   INDIANS.  O/ 

dwellings.  Their  furniture  and  domestic  utensils  were 
destroyed  ;  their  garments  torn  in  pieces ;  and  every 
thing  was  thrown  into  disorder,  for  the  coming  of  the 
evil  genii  who  were  to  descend  on  the  desolate  earth. 

"  On  the  evening  of  the  last  day,  a  procession  of 
priests,  assuming  the  dress  and  ornaments  of  their 
gods,  moved  from  the  capital  towards  a  lofty  moun- 
tain, about  two  leagues  distant.  They  carried  with 
them  a  noble  victim,  the  flower  of  their  captives,  and 
an  apparatus  for  kindling  the  new  fire,  the  success  of 
which  was  an  augury  of  the  renewal  of  the  cycle. 
On  reaching  the  summit  of  the  mountain,  the  proces- 
sion paused  till  midnight ;  when,  as  the  constellation 
of  the  Pleiades  approached  the  zenith,  the  new  fire 
was  kindled  by  the  friction  of  the  sticks  placed  on  the 
breast  of  the  victim.  The  flame  was  soon  communi- 
cated to  a  funeral  pile,  on  which  the  body  of  the 
slaughtered  captive  was  thrown.  As  the  light  streamed 
up  towards  heaven,  shouts  of  joy  and  triumph  burst 
forth  from  the  countless  multitudes  who  covered  the 
hills,  the  terraces  of  the  temples,  and  the  house-tops, 
with  eyes  anxiously  bent  on  the  mount  of  sacrifice. 
Couriers,  with  torches  lighted  at  the  blazing  beacon, 
rapidly  bore  them  over  every  part  of  the  country  ;  and 
the  cheering  element  was  seen  brightening  on  altar 
and  hearth-stone,  for  the  circuit  of  many  a  league, 
long  before  the  sun,  rising  on  his  accustomed  track, 
gave  assurance  that  a  new  cycle  had  commenced  its 
march,  and  that  the  laws  of  nature  were  not  to  be 
reversed  for  the  Aztecs. 

"  The  following  thirteen  days  were  given  up  to  fes- 
tivity. The  houses  were  cleansed  and  whitened. 


58 


THE    MEXICAN    INDIANS. 


The  broken  vessels  were  replaced  by  new  ones.  The 
people,  dressed  in  their  gayest  apparel,  and  crowned 
with  garlands  and  chaplets  of  flowers,  thronged  in  joy- 
ous procession  to  offer  up  their  oblations  and  thanks- 
givings in  the  temples.  Dances  and  games  were 
instituted,  emblematical  of  the  regeneration  of  the 
world.  It  was  the  carnival  of  the  Aztecs,  or  rather 
the  national  jubilee,  the  great  secular  festival,  like  that 
of  the  Romans,  or  ancient  Etruscans,  which  few  alive 
had  witnessed  before, — or  could  expect  to  see  again." 


The  temple  of  Mexico. 

CITIES. — The  vale  of  Mexico,  in  which  the  capital 
•was  situated,  was  about  200  miles  from  the  sea ;  it 
was  of  great  extent,  and  encircled  by  mountains,  some 
of  which  were  always  capped  with  snow.  The  valley 
contained  eight  lakes,  of  considerable  size ;  that  of 
Tezcuco,  in  the  centre  of  which  Tenochtitlan,  the 
ancient  name  of  Mexico,  was  situated,  was  nearly  as 


THE    MEXICAN    INDIANS.  69 

salt  ns  sca-waler.  Lake  Chalco,  lying  close  to  it,  is 
of  fresh  water. 

The  present  town  of  Mexico,  though  upon  the  same 
site  as  the  ancient  city,  is  three  miles  from  the  water  ; 
a  fact  to  be  explained  by  the  circumstance  that  owing 
to  evaporation,  the  lake  has  shrunk  to  a  small  portion 
of  its  former  extent,  being  now  but  14  miles  long  and 
8  broad. 

Though  modern  Mexico  is  one  of  the  finest  cities 
in  America,  yet  it  is  far  less  interesting  than  was  the 
ancient  capital  upon  whose  ruins  it  was  founded. 
Tenochtitlan  was  built  upon  a  group  of  low  marshy 
islands,  nearly  in  the  middle  of  lake  Tezcuco.  and 
many  of  its  houses  were  raised  upon  spiles.  The 
chief  access  to  the  city  passed  over  the  lake  from  the 
south,  and  came  into  a  broad  street  which  crossed  the 
town :  this  led  to  another  causeway  which  traversed 
the  lake  to  the  north.  Beside  these  two  dikes,  there 
was  another  which  connected  the  island  city  with  the 
main  land  on  the  west.  These  dikes  were  built  of 
solid  mason  work,  of  sufficient  width  to  allow  ten 
horsemen  to  pass  abreast,  and  were  defended  by  draw- 
bridges. They  continue,  to  the  present  day,  to  be  the 
chief  avenues  to  the  city. 

The  first  settlers  of  this  wonderful  city,  built  their 
frail  dwellings  of  reeds  and  rushes,  covering  them 
with  the  leaves  of  the  aloe  ;  but  in  due  time,  they  laid 
solid  foundations,  and  constructed  noble  edifices  of 
light  colored  free-stone,  found  in  the  vicinity.  The 
houses  of  the  great  chiefs  were  on  a  scale  of  rude 
magnificence ;  they  were  seldom  of  more  than  two 
stories,  and  were  arranged  in  quadrangles  around  a 


60  THE    MEXICAN    INDIANS. 

court ;  the  latter  was  encircled  by  porticoes,  embel- 
lished \vith  porphyry  and  jasper.  A  fountain  of  crys- 
tal \vater  often  played  in  the  court,  shedding  its  grateful 
coolness  over  the  atmosphere.  The  dwellings  of  the 
common  people  had  foundations  of  stone,  with  walls 
of  brick,  crossed  by  wooden  rafters.  Dwellings  of  the 
meanest  kind  were  mingled  with  the  more  splendid 
edifices,  giving  the  streets  a  rude  and  broken  aspect. 

The  water  flowed  through  the  town  as  in  the  famous 
Italian  city  of  Venice,  by  means  of  numerous  canals 
which  crossed  it  in  every  direction.  The  principal 
street,  extending  in  a  straight  line  from  the  southern 
to  the  northern  causeway,  afforded  a  noble  view,  in 
which  gardens  rising  in  terraces,  and  displaying  every 
variety  of  fruit  and  flower,  were  seen  intervening 
between  the  long  ranges  of  buildings. 

The  population  of  the  capital,  at  the  time  of  the 
conquest,  was  supposed  to  be  at  least  300,000  souls ; 
but  we  must  consider  that  its  immediate  vicinity  was 
teeming  with  people.  Its  circuit  was  about  three  miles. 
Fresh  water  was  brought  to  the  city,  a  distance  of 
nearly  a  league,  by  an  earthen  pipe,  constructed  for 
the  purpose.  This  fed  the  fountains  and  reservoirs  of 
the  principal  inhabitants ;  the  water  was  also  trans- 
ported to  all  parts  of  the  city,  by  means  of  canals,  for 
general  use. 

Montezuma,  who  had  a  taste  for  magnificence,  erect- 
ed a  pile  of  buildings  for  his  palace,  of  vast  extent, 
which  occupied  a  part  of  what  is  now  the  great  square 
of  Mexico.  The  roofs  of  the  chief  buildings  were 
terraced,  and  were  of  such  extent,  that  the  Spaniards 
declared  them  to  be  sufficient  for  a  tournament  of 


THE    MEXICAN   INDIANS.  61 

thirty  knights.  Its  exterior  Avas  profusely  decorated, 
the  apartments  were  hung  with  fanciful  draperies,  and 
its  roofs,  held  together  without  a  nail,  were  inlaid  witn 
cedar  and  other  odorous  woods.  Its  rooms  were  spa- 
cious, and  Cortes  in  his  enthusiasm  declared  them  to 
be  superior  to  anything  of  the  kind  in  Spain.  Adja- 
cent to  the  principal  edifice,  was  an  armory,  filled  with 
military  weapons  and  dresses,  and  kept  in  the  most 
perfect  order.  There  were  granaries  for  articles  of 
food,  and  warehouses  for  apparel.  There  was  an 
immense  aviary,  in  which  parrots  of  every  tribe,  pheas- 
ants, cardinals,  hurnming-birds  and  other  birds  of 
brilliant  plumage  were  assembled  from  all  parts  of  the 
empire.  This  establishment  was  in  the  charge  of 
three  hundred  attendants.  There  was  also  a  separate 
building  for  vultures  and  eagles,  and  such  was  their 
immense  number,  that  they  were  allowed  five  hundred 
turkeys  for  their  daily  food.  Adjoining  the  aviary 
was  a  menagerie  of  wild  animals  of  various  kinds. 
The  serpents  were  kept  in  long  cages,  lined  with 
feathers,  or  in  troughs  of  mud. 

Extensive  gardens  were  spread  around  these  build- 
ings, filled  with  fragrant  shrubs  and  flowers  and  me- 
dicinal plants.  Amid  a  labyrinth  of  sweet-scented 
groves  and  shrubberies  were  seen  sparkling  jets  of 
water,  scattering  their  refreshing  dews  over  the  blos- 
soms. There  were  large  reservoirs  stocked  with  fish 
and  frequented  by  various  tribes  of  water  fowl,  whose 
ti-stes  were  so  nicely  consulted  that  salt  water  was 
provided  for  those  whose  habits  were  supposed  to  re- 
quire it. 

The  picture  of  this  luxurious  palace  would  be 
v.— 8 


62  THE   MEXICAN   INDIANS. 

incomplete,  without  a  sketch  of  the  monarch.  His 
domestic  establishment  was  on  a  scale  of  barbaric 
splendor ;  his  wives  being  as  numerous  as  those  of  an 
eastern  sultan.  They  were  lodged  in  their  oivn  apart- 
ments, and  spent  their  time  in  the  feminine  employ- 
ments of  weaving  and  embroidery.  The  palace  was 
supplied  with  numerous  baths,  and  the  monarch  set  the 
example  in  his  own  person  of  frequent  ablutions.  He 
changed  his  dress  four  times  a  day,  and  never  wore 
a  garment  a  second  time. 

Besides  a  numerous  female  retinue,  the  palace  was 
filled  with  nobles,  the  haughty  Montezuma  refusing  to 
be  served  by  any  other  than  men  of  gentle  blood.  He 
took  his  meals  alone  in  a  saloon,  the  floors  of  which 
were  covered  with  mats.  The  bill  of  fare  embraced 
hundreds  of  dishes,  game  from  remote  forests,  and  fish 
which  the  day  before  were  swimming  in  the  distant 
Gulf  of  Mexico.  The  meats  were  served  by  attend- 
ant nobles,  who  soon  resigned  their  office  to  maidens 
selected  for  their  personal  grace  and  beauty.  The 
emperor  was  seated  on  a  cushion  and  the  dinner  was 
served  on  a  table  covered  with  fine  cotton  cloth.  The 
dishes  were  of  the  finest  wares  of  Cholula,  though  he 
had  a  service  of  gold  for  religious  occasions.  During 
the  repast  a  screen,  richly  gilt,  was  drawn  round  him, 
to  conceal  him  from  vulgar  eyes.  The  solid  dishes 
Avere  succeeded  by  sweetmeats  and  pastry,  rolls,  wa- 
fers, and  at  last  chocolate.  This  was  served  in  golden 
goblets,  with  spoons  of  the  same  metal.  The  des- 
sert surpassed  in  luxury  that  of  any  prince  in  Eu- 
rope. It  embraced  the  fruits  of  the  tropics,  and  more 
temperate  regions,  gathered  even  from  distant  climes, 


THE    MEXICAN   INDIANS.  63 

and  transmitted  with  the  speed  of  steam  to  the  capi- 
tal. 

After  the  meal,  water  was  brought  in  a  silver  basin, 
with  which  the  monarch  performed  his  ablution.  He 
was  then  supplied  with  pipes,  and  regaled  himself 
with  the  fumes  of  tobacco,  mingled  with  liquid  amber, 
sometimes  drawn  in  by  the  nose,  and  at  others,  by  the 
mouth.  During  this  soothing  process  he  was  cheered 
by  the  exhibition  of  mountebanks  and  jugglers,  of 
whom  a  regular  corps  was  attached  .to  the  palace. 
Sometimes,  also,  he  amused  himself  with  the  jesters 
who  belonged  to  the  court,  or  with  the  graceful  dances 
of  the  women  accompanied  by  a  low  and  solemn  chant, 
celebrating  the  heroic  deeds  of  the  Aztec  warriors. 
When  sufficiently  regaled,  he  took  his  siesta,  after 
which,  he  gave  audience  to  ambassadors,  or  persons 
of  rank,  who  entered  his  presence  barefoot,  and  with 
downcast  eyes.  "  Surely,"  says  Cortes,  "  neither  the 
Grand  Senior,  nor  any  other  infidel,  ever  displayed  so 
pompous  and  elaborate  a  ceremonial." 

Beside  the  crowd  of  retainers  already  noticed,  there 
were  numerous  artisans  employed  about  the  buildings, 
and  jewellers  who  made  trinkets  for  the  dark-eyed 
beauties  of  the  harem.  The  mummers  and  jugglers 
were  also  numerous,  and  such  was  the  number  of 
dancers  attached  to  the  palace,  that  a  particular  district 
in  the  city  was  assigned  for  their  use.  The  main- 
tenance of  this  host,  amounting  to  several  thousand, 
required  heavy  disbursements,  yet  an  exact  account  of 
these  was  kept  in  an  apartment  appropriated  to  the 
purpose,  where  the  whole  economy  of  the  palace  might 
be  seen  recorded  in  hieroglyphic  ledgers.  On  the 
arrival  of  the  Spaniards,  the  treasurer  who  had  charge 


04  THE    MEXICAN   INDIANS. 

of  this  office  was  a  trusty  cacique,  named  Tapia. 
Such  is  the  picture  of  the  palace  of  Mexico,  with  the 
habits  of  its  luxurious  lord.  In  these  we  cannot  fail 
to  see  a  striking  resemblance  to  the  manners  and  cus- 
toms which  belonged  to  the  more  sumptuous  princes 
of  the  Tartar  race. 

The  great  temple  or  teocalli,  of  the  capital,  occupied 
the  large  tract  which  now  contains  the  cathedral  of 
Mexico,  part  of  the  market-place,  and  some  of  the 
adjoining  streets.  It  stood  in  the  midst  of  this  vast 
area,  and  was  encompassed  by  a  wall  of  stone  eight 
feet  high,  ornamented  on  the  outside  with  figures  of 
serpents,  wrought  in  bas  relief.  This  wall  was  pierced 
by  four  gateways,  opening  to  the  four  principal  streets 
of  the  city. 

It  was  a  pyramidal  structure  of  earth  and  pebbles, 
coated  on  the  outside  with  hewn  stone.  It  was  square, 
and  its  four  sides  faced  the  cardinal  points.  It  con- 
sisted of  five  stories  or  platforms,  with  a  stairway,  which 
was  so  arranged  as  to  pass  four  times  around  the  whole 
edifice  in  ascending.  This  contrivance  gave  a  splendid 
effect  to  the  religious  processions  which  ascended  and 
descended  the  temple.  It  was  about  three  hundred 
feet  square  at  the  base  and  a  hundred  feet  high. 

The  view  of  the  city  of  Mexico,  from  the  top  of 
this  temple,  as  a  central  point,  was  truly  sublime.  Be- 
low, the  beholder  could  see  the  city  spread  out  like  a 
map,  with  its  streets  and  canals,  and  every  portion  of 
it  teeming  with  life  and  bustle,  and  business.  Hun- 
dreds of  canoes  were  glancing  on  the  canals,  the  streets 
were  thronged  with  gaily  dressed  people,  and  the  whole 
air  was  filled  with  the  hum  that  came  up  from  the  mar- 


THE    MEXICAN   INDIANS.  66 

ket-place.  Encircling  the  city  was  seen  the  lake  of 
Tezcuco,  and  at  a  distance  the  fresh  water  expanse  of 
Chalco — both  bordered  by  numerous  towns.  The  view 
extended  over  a  wide  prospect  beyond,  displaying, 
amid  cultivated  and  luxuriant  fields,  the  burnished 
walls  of  numerous  temples,  until  at  last  the  eye  rested 
upon  the  circle  of  mountains  which  enclose  the  valley, 
and  whose  tops,  covered  with  perpetual  snow,  pre- 
sented a  spectacle  of  eternal  winter,  looking  down 
upon  a  region  of  almost  perpetual  spring. 

The  vast  area  on  the  top  of  this  pyramid  was  occu- 
pied by  a  large  block  of  jasper,  where  the  victims  of 
the  sacrifices  were  slain.  At  the  other  end  were  two 
towers,  of  three  stories  each.  In  the  lower  divisions 
wrere  the  gods,  the  utensils  of  sacrifice,  the  altars  and 
the  ever-blazing  fire.  Other  apartments  were  de- 
voted to  different  uses,  and  some  of  them,  when  visited 
by  Cortes,  displayed  not  only  the  horrid  symbols  of 
the  Mexican  religion,  but  they  were  stained  with 
human  gore,  and  were  scarcely  to  be  endured  on  ac- 
count of  the  suffocating  stench  which  pervaded  them. 
The  priests,  clotted  with  blood,  and  with  aspects  more 
fit  for  demons  than  ministers  of  religion,  were  seen 
passing  from  place  to  place  and  performing  the  revolt- 
ing rites  of  the  several  gods  to  whose  worship  they 
were  devoted. 

As  Cortes  and  his  companions  became  familiar  with 
the  streets  of  Mexico,  they  remarked  that  the  people 
here  were  generally  better  dressed,  than  in  other  parts 
of  the  country  which  they  had  seen.  The  women, 
who  went  abroad  as  freely  as  the  men,  wore  several 
skirts  or  petticoats,  of  different  lengths,  one  above 
E  6* 


68  THE    MEXICAN   INDIANS. 

another;  these  were  richly  embroidered,  and  were 
sometimes  covered  with  flowing  robes,  reaching  to  the 
ankle.  No  veils  were  worn  here,  as  in  some  other 
provinces ;  and  the  hair  floated  luxuriantly  over  the 
shoulders,  displaying  the  serious  and  somewhat  melan- 
choly, though  often  beautiful,  features.  The  men 
wore  cloaks,  tied  round  the  neck  and  fastened  about 
the  loins  by  an  ample  sash.  These  were  often  highly 
ornamented — and  as  the  weather  became  cool,  the 
cotton  fabrics  gave  place  to  others  of  fur  or  feather- 
work. 

There  was,  perhaps,  nothing  in  this  wonderful  city, 
which  excited  more  surprise  in  the  Spaniards,  than 
the  great  market-place.  In  this  vast  area,  encircled 
by  porticoes,  the  whole  trade  of  the  city  was  carried 
on,  there  being  no  shops  for  the  purpose.  Each  trade 
had  its  particular  quarter,  duly  assigned  by  the  attend- 
ing officers. 

In  one  place  might  be  seen  cotton  goods  piled  up  in 
bales,  or  manufactured  into  dresses,  curtains,  coverlets 
and  tapestries :  in  another  were  the  goldsmiths,  with 
their  curious  toys  and  trinkets  and  a  multitude  of  other 
articles  for  more  substantial  use.  In  one  quarter  were 
articles  of  pottery,  coarse  and  fine ;  in  another,  vases 
of  wood,  elaborately  wrought,  gilt  and  varnished  ;  there 
were  hatchets  of  tin  and  copper — a  tolerable  substitute 
for  iron — razors  and  knives  of  stone ;  blank  books 
and  maps ;  paper  of  many  kinds ;  casques,  doublets, 
lances,  arrows,  and  swords,  for  the  soldier ;  meats, 
and  grain,  and  fish  of  every  kind,  and  vegetables  in 
great  variety. 

Amid  this  busy  scene,  was  also  to  be  found  the 


THE   MEXICAN   INDIANS.  67 

barber,  ready  to  shave  his  customers  with  a  tazor  of 
stone  ;  and  a  multitude  of  dealers  with  smoking  viands 
alluring  beverages  and  tempting  confectionary,  pre- 
pared for  use.  Pastry,  bread,  cakes,  chocolate,  pulque, 
and  a  variety  of  other  articles  were  offered  from  stands 
beneath  the  portico,  all  of  which  were  almost  smoth- 
ered with  a  profusion  of  gaudy  and  fragrant  flowers. 
Nothing  could  exceed  in  bustle  and  activity,  this  won- 
derful spectacle — where  not  only  a  large  part  of  the 
people  of  the  city  were  gathered,  but  multitudes  from 
the  gardens,  towns  and  villages  around  the  lake,  and 
from  the  adjacent  country.  The  number  assembled 
here  was  often  at  least  forty  thousand,  and  probably, 
on  some  occasions,  many  mere. 

Such  were  some  of  the  wonders  of  the  city  of 
Mexico,  at  the  time  it  was  visited  by  Cortes, — and  who, 
being  received  with  lavish  hospitality,  repaid  the  kind- 
ness of  his  royal  entertainer  with  a  cruelty  and  treach- 
ery which  finds  no  parallel  in  history.  He  came  with 
professions  of  peace,  kindness,  and  charity ;  yet  his 
conduct  was  that  of  a  robber  and  murderer,  whose 
plunder  amounted  to  unnumbered  millions,  and  whose 
victims  were  only  to  be  reckoned  by  hundreds  of  thou- 
sands. In  reading  his  history,  we  are  lost  in  mingled 
wonder  and  indignation,  at  his  fanaticism,  his  courage, 
his  duplicity,  and  the  terrible  ravages  which  followed 
his  sway,  and  speedily  resulted  in  sweeping  from  the 
earth,  the  whole  fabric  of  Mexican  civilization — its 
arts — cities — people,  princes  and  government — leaving 
behind  only  the  ghastly  relics  to  shadow  forth  the 
departed  days  of  former  glory. 

After  this  description  of  Mexico,  it  is  not  necessary 


68  "THE    MEXICAN 

to  give  a  minute  account  of  the  other  cities  of  Anahuac. 
None  of  them  rivalled  the  capital,  though  many  were 
populous,  and  abounded  in  fine  buildings.  Tezcuco, 
fifteen  miles  north-east  of  Mexico,  was  once  a  noble 
city,  and  was  the  residence  of  the  monarch  of  that 
rich  and  flourishing  kingdom. 

The  history  of  the  Tezcucans  is  hardly  less  interest- 
ing than  that  of  the  Mexicans.  They  appear,  indeed,  to 
have  preceded  their  Aztec  neighbors  in  civilization,  and 
at  a  period  a  little  before  the  time  of  Montezuma,  their 
laws,  policy  and  arts,  seem  to  have  indicated  a  degree 
of  improvement  even  superior  to  that  of  the  Mexicans, 
in  the  time  of  Cortes.  The  remains  of  their  literature 
surpass  any  thing  that  has  been  left  by  their  neighbors. 

The  palace  in  the  city  of  Tezcuco  is  described  as 
having  been  in  the  highest  degree  magnificent ;  and 
there  were  other  edifices  of  great  extent  and  no  incon- 
siderable degree  of  barbaric  splendor.  For  a  long 
period,  the  kings  of  Tezcuco  were  in  alliance  with 
those  of  Mejxico,  notwithstanding  that  their  territories 
were  contiguous,  and  the  capitals  within  sight  of  each 
other.  Under  this  union,  both  nations  flourished,  and 
in  the  reign  of  Nezahualcoyotl,  who  died  in  1470, 
Tezcuco  rose  to  a  high  pitch  of  prosperity.  This  was 
considered  its  golden  age.  The  monarch  was  not 
only  a  warrior  and  statesman,  but  a  poet  of  no  mean 
capacity.  He  was  doubtless  the  greatest  prince  that 
ever  sat  on  an  American  throne. 

His  son,  Nezahualpilli,  possessed  his  father's  talents, 
but  he  became  depressed  with  superstitious  fears,  and 
shrunk  from  the  active  cares  of  government.  Taking 
advintage  of  this  weakness,  the  crafty  Montezuma 


THE   MEXICAN   INDIANS.  69 

stripped  him  of  his  principal  tributary  territories,  and 
Tezcuco  thence  became  secondary  to  Mexico.  Its  capi- 
tal soon  fell  into  the  hands  of  the  Spanish  conquerors, 
and  its  temple?  and  palaces  crumbled  away  beneath 
the  tread  of  the  destroyer. 

The  ancient  city  of  Cholula  lay  nearly  sixty  miles 
south-east  of  Mexico,  and  is  described  by  Cortes  as 
containing  20,000  houses,  and  perhaps  200,000  inhabi- 
tants. It  was  founded  by  the  Aztecs,  and  long  main- 
tained a  sort  of  republican  government.  It  excelled 
in  various  mechanical  arts,  especially  in  working  metals 
and  in  manufacturing  cotton  and  pottery.  It  was  ven- 
erable for  its  antiquity,  and  having  been  the  residence 
of  Quetzalcoatl,  was  held  in  religious  reverence. 
Upon  the  great  pyramid,  surpassing  in  magnitude 
every  other  religious  structure  on  the  globe,  were  the 
altars  of  this  deity.  They  were  enclosed  in  a  sump- 
tuous temple,  which  also  contained  the  image  of  the 
mystic  god.  The  sanctity  of  the  place,  hallowed  by 
tradition,  brought  a  multitude  of  pilgrims  from  the 
remotest  boundaries  of  Anahuac,  to  offer  up  their 
devotions  at  the  shrine  of  Quetzalcoatl.  In  no  city 
were  there  such  a  concourse  of  priests,  so  many 
processions,  and  such  ceremonial  pomp  of  sacrifice 
and  festival.  Cholula  was  in  short  the  Mecca  of 
Anahuac. 

Tlascala  was  about  twenty  miles  north  of  Cholula, 
and  was  a  populous  town  in  the  time  of  Cortes.  The 
houses  were  for  the  most  part  of  mud,  the  better  sort 
being,  however,  of  stone  or  brick.  They  were  without 
doors  or  windows,  but  mats  were  hung  in  the  entrances 
to  the  house,  and  being  fringed  with  pieces  of  copper, 


70  THE    MEXICAN   INDIANS. 

gave  a  tinkling  sound,  which  answered  the  purpose 
of  bells  in  announcing  any  one's  approach.  The 
streets  were  narrow  and  dark.  At  the  fairs,  held  as 
usual  every  fifth  day,  30,000  persons  were  present. 
Barbers'  shops  and  baths  were  common  in  the  city. 

The  Tlascalans  occupied  an  elevated  and  rugged 
territory,  cultivating  the  land,  however,  with  skill  and 
success.  Their  bracing  atmosphere  and  hardy  pur- 
suits imparted  to  them  great  vigor  of  character,  and 
that  jealousy  of  liberty  which  led  to  the  mainten- 
ance of  a  republican  government,  and  rendered  them 
impatient  of  the  authority  claimed  by  Montezuma. 
Their  hatred  springing  from  this  source,  led  them  to 
hail  Cortes  as  a  deliverer,  and  to  receive  him  into  their 
capital  with  demonstrations  of  unbounded  joy.  Yet 
the  friendship  of  the  Spaniard  proved  as  fatal  as  his 
enmity,  and  nothing  remains  of  the  great  city  of  Tlas- 
cala  but  a  miserable  village,  containing  a  few  hundred 
inhabitants. 

There  were  other  cities  scattered  throughout  Ana- 
huac,  many  of  them  populous  and  some  remarkable  for 
their  edifices.  Among  these  were  several  in  the  vicin- 
ity of  Mexico,  the  remains  of  which  still  bear  testi- 
mony to  their  former  splendor 

ANTIQUITIES. — It  is  scarcely  possible  to  conceive  of 
a  greater  change  than  has  taken  place  in  Mexico,  since 
the  conquest.  Not  only  are  the  palaces  and  cities 
of  the  Aztec  race  swept  away  to  give  place  to  modern 
towns  ;  not  only  are  the  Indian  temples  either  levelled 
down  or  in  ruins,  over  which  trees  and  plants  seek  to 
throw  a  veil  of  oblivion,  but  the  very  aspect  of  the 
country,  in  many  places,  has  lost  its  original  character. 


THE    MEXICAN    INDIANS.  71 

A  recent  traveller  speaks  of  the  approach  to  modern 
Mexico  as  presenting  "  scenery  arid  and  flat ;  and  where 
the  waters  of  the  lakes,  covered  with  gay  canoes,  once 
surrounded  the  city,  forming  canals  through  its  streets, 
we  now  see  melancholy  marshes,  little  enlivened  by 
the  great  flocks  of  wild  ducks  and  waterfowl  that  rise 
from  them."  This  shrinking  of  the  waters  of  the 
lake,  and  the  desolation  which  has  consequently  usurp- 
ed the  place  of  former  fertility,  seem  fit  emblems  of 
the  blasting  influence  of  the  Spanish  dominion  in  this 
favored  clime. 

It  is  the  peculiar  disgrace  of  the  conquerors  of 
Mexico,  that  while  with  bigot  zeal  the)'  quenched  the 
light  of  civilization  that  existed  in  the  country,  blotting 
out  its  history,  destroying  its  libraries,  demolishing 
the  works  of  art,  crushing  the  fabric  of  government, 
desolating  the  cities,  butchering  the  inhabitants  almost 
by  millions,  and  trampling  down  the  original  races 
beneath  the  iron  heel  of  despotism, — after  more  than 
three  centuries  they  have  hardly  produced  a  state  of 
society  better  than  that  which  they  found.  Reducing 
the  nations  to  a  state  of  abject  poverty  and  servitude, 
they  have  given  them  in  compensation  of  their  un- 
numbered wrongs,  only  the  Catholic  religion,  which, 
however,  is  used  by  the  Indians  as  the  vehicle  through 
which  they  still  worship  their  bloody  gods,  and  as  the 
instrument  by  which  they  are  plundered  of  their  hard 
earnings. 

After  such  a  process  of  worse  than  Vandal  destruc- 
tion, few  antiquities  of  great  interest  can  be  expected 
to  remain.  The  city  of  Mexico  has  been  wholly  trans- 
formed— the  great  temple,  the  palace  of  Montezuma, 


72  THE   MEXICAN   INDIANS. 

the  stately  edifices  of  the  nobles  have  vanished  for- 
ever. A  colossal  statue  of  the  goddess  of  war  still 
remains,  but  it  is  buried  that  it  may  not  rouse  the 
dormant  superstitions  of  the  natives.  When  a  few 
years  since  it  was  taken  up  that  a  cast  might  be  made 
from  it,  these  people,  in  attestation  of  their  lingering 
reverence,  dressed  it  in  flowers  !  The  drapery  of  this 
idol  is  of  twisted  serpents,  and  two  snakes  supply  the- 
place  of  arms.  The  necklace  represents  human  hands 
and  skulls,  fastened  together  by  entrails.  This  statue 
is  nine  feet  high. 

Within  the  enclosure  of  the  present  cathedral  is  an 
ancient  mass,  called  the  stone  of  the  sacrifices.  It  is 
of  porphyry  and  nine  feet  wide.  In  the  centre  is  a 
head,  in  relief,  surrounded  by  27  groups  of  figures. 
The  hideous  use  of  this  stone  is  indicated  by  a  groove, 
made  to  carry  off  the  blood  of  the  victims  ! 

The  great  stone,  disinterred  in  1790,  called  Monte- 
zuma's  watch,  or  the  Mexican  calendar,  has  been  al- 
ready noticed.  Besides  the  remains  o'f  monuments 
which  were  chiefly  works  of  magnificence,  there  are 
others  abounding  around  the  city  of  Mexico,  and  all 
over  the  country,  which  attest  the  high  degree  of  civ- 
ilization which  their  builders  had  attained.  Among 
these  were  roads  constructed  of  huge  blocks  of  stone, 
and  frequently  carried  on  a  continued  level,  so  as  to 
be  viaducts  across  valleys.  The  remains  of  bridges, 
also,  of  great  strength  and  durability,  are  still  found 
in  different  parts  of  the  country. 

A  little  to  the  west  of  Mexico  is  the  royal  hill  of 
Chapoltepec.  It  is  a  lofty  crest  of  porphyritic  rock, 
and  now  occupied  by  a  gloomy  and  desolate  castle, 


THE   MEXICAN  INDIANS.  73 

erected  by  Galves,  the  Spanish  viceroy.  In  the  days 
of  Montezuma,  its  base  was  swept  by  the  waters  of 
the  Tezcuco,  and  on  account  of  the  enchanting  pros- 
pect it  afforded,  it  became  the  favorite  residence  of  the 
luxurious  emperor.  Here  he  had  a  palace,  and  his 
gardens  extended  for  miles  around  the  base  of  the  hill. 
Amid  tangled  shrubbery,  twining  myrtles,  and  the 
dark  shadows  of  gigantic  cypresses,  some  interesting 
relics,  consisting  chiefly  of  reservoirs,  for  baths,  are 
still  to  be  seen.  A  recent  traveller,  speaking  of  this 
now  desolate  spot,  has  the  following  words  : — 

"  Could  these  hoary  forests  speak,  what  tales  might 
they  not  disclose,  standing  with  their  long  gray  beards 
and  outstretched  venerable  arms,  century  after  cen- 
tury, already  old  when  Montezuma  was  a  boy,  and 
still  vigorous  in  the  days  of  Bustamente !  Here  has 
the  last  of  the  Aztec  emperors  wandered  with  his 
dark-eyed  harem.  Under  the  shade  of  these  gigantic 
trees  he  had  rested,  perhaps  smoked  his  '  tobacco 
mingled  with  amber,'  and  fallen  to  sleep,  his  dreams 
unhaunted  by  visions  of  the  stern  traveller  from  the 
far  east,  whose  sails  even  then  might  be  within  sight 
of  the  shore.  In  these  tanks  he  has  bathed.  Here 
were  his  gardens,  his  aviaries  and  his  fish-ponds. 
Through  these,  now  tangled  and  deserted  woods,  he 
may  have  been  carried  by  his  young  nobles  in  his 
open  litter,  under  a  splendid  dais,  stepping  out  upon 
the  rich  stuffs  which  his  slaves  spread  before  him  on 
the  green  and  velvet  turf." 

Other  places  of  great  interest  exist  in  the  Valley  of 
Mexico.  Tezcuco  is  now  only  a  mass  of  ruins,  but 
these  are  peculiarly  grand.  The  foundations  and 
v.— 7 


74  THE    MEXICAN   INDIANS. 

remains  of  temples,  fortresses,  palaces,  and  other  ex- 
tensive buildings,  attest  a  period  when  it  must  have 
been  one  of  the  greatest  cities  of  America,  and  capital 
of  the  kingdom  of  Acolhuacan;  still  later,  it  was  the 
seat  of  literature  and  art,  the  Athens  of  America.  The 
remains  of  the  palace  of  the  former  tributary  king 
could  not  be  viewed  without  forming  an  elevated  idea 
of  the  ancient  Mexican  architecture.  It  must  have 
covered  several  acres,  was  raised  on  sloping  terraces, 
and  built  of  materials  at  once  durable  arxl  beautiful. 
All  around  Tezcuco  are  seen  mounds  of  brick,  mixed 
with  aqueducts,  ruins  of  buildings  of  enormous 
strength,  and  many  large  square  structures  nearly  en- 
tire. Here  the  blind  zeal  of  the  first  bishops  collected 
and  committed  to  the  flames,  all  the  monuments  of 
Aztec  history  and  literature. 

Near  Otumba,  once  large  and  flourishing,  but  now 
little  more  than  a  village,  are  »he  pyramids  of  Teoti- 
huacan,  the  two  principal  of  which  appear  to  be  tem- 
ples dedicated  to  the  sun  and  moon;  the  highest  of 
these  has  been  recently  estimated  at  221  feet.  They 
were  formerly  crowned  by  two  immense  stone  idols  ; 
these  were  covered  with  gold  which  was  stripped  off 
by  the  Spanish  conquerors.  The  whole  plain  around 
these  pyramids  was  called  the  pathway  of  the  dead. 
Hundreds  of  smaller  pyramids  surround  the  two  larger 
ones,  and  are  disposed  in  regular  streets,  which  ter- 
minate at  the  temples  of  the  sun  and  moon.  This  was 
probably  an  ancient  burial  place,  and  is  spoken  of  by 
a  recent  visitor,  as  an  Aztec  Pere-la-Chaise,  or  roof- 
less Westminster  Abbey.  Human  sacrifices  were 
also  offered  here,  and  stone  knives  and  arrows,  with 


THE    MEXICAN    INDIANS.  75 

which  the  priests  opened  the  breasts  of  their  victims 
are  still  found  about  the  plnce. 

Cholula  has  been  already  mentioned.  It  is  now  a 
small  town,  and  its  mighty  pyramid,  crumbling  with 
age,  is  covered  with  vegetation.  It  is  177  feet  high, 
and  one  side  of  its  base  measures  1440  feet.  Though 
far  less  elevated  than  the  great  pyramid  of  Jizeh,  it 
greatly  exceeds  it  in  bulk,  for  that  measures  but  7C3 
feet  at  the  base.  This  celebrated  temple  is  said  to 
have  resembled  that  of  Belus,  in  Babylon. 

There  are  other  interesting  monuments  of  antiquity 
in  Mexico,  especially  in  Yucatan  and  the  vicinity, — 
of  these  we  shall  hereafter  give  a  particular  account. 


Indians  of  the  city  of  Mexico. 

PRESENT  STATE  OF  THE  INDIANS  OF  MEXICO. — In  the 
preceding  pages  we  have  not  noticed  several  tribes 
occupying  the  northern  border  of  Mexico,  which  in 
the  time  of  Cortes  lived  a  wandering  life,  and  main- 
tained their  wild  independence.  Many  of  these  were 
never  subdued,  and  others  have  but  partially  submitted 


76  THE    MEXICAN    INDIANS. 

to  the  Spanish  authority.  There  are  still  numerous 
bands  of  these,  called  Indios  Bravos,  who  preserve 
their  savage  habits,  though  their  condition  has  been 
modified  by  the  use  of  horses  and  firearms,  which 


Indians  of  the  country  near  Mexico. 

they  have  adopted  from  the  Europeans.  Among  these 
tribes  are  the  Camanchees,  who  live  partly  within 
the  territory  of  Mexico,  and  partly  within  that  of 
the  United  States.  These  will  be  hereafter  noticed, 
and  a  description  of  their  manners  and  customs  will 
give  a  general  idea  of  this  class  of  the  Mexican  Indi- 
ans. 

Our  descriptions  have  had  a  primary  reference  to 
the  several  nations  and  tribes  embraced  within  the 
empire  of  Montezuma,  who  had  adopted  some  degree 
of  civilization.  These  people,  who  were  once  the 
masters  of  the  country,  have  since  the  conquest  been  a 
subjugated  and  depressed  race;  and  though  they  have 
been  placed  in  contact  with  the  arts  and  institutions 


THE    MEXICAN    INDIANS.  77 

of  civilization,  they  have  hardly  been  improved  in 
their  condition.  They  have,  indeed,  parted  with  the 
bloody  rites  connected  with  their  religion  ;  but  nearly 
the  same  idolatrous  superstitions  linger  in  their  minds, 
as  in  former  days. 

On  the  whole,  it  would  appear  that  the  mental  and 
physical  characteristics  of  the  Mexican  Indians,  have 
shared  in  the  paralyzing  effects  of  the  Spanish  domin- 
ion. Though  shorter  and  apparently  less  athletic 
than  our  northern  savages,  they  bear  the  general  fea- 
tures of  the  great  American  family.  They  have  the 
same  swarthy  or  copper  color,  the  flat  and  smooth 
hair,  thin  beard,  squat  body,  long  eye  with  the  corner 
curving  up  towards  the  temples,  prominent  cheek 
bones,  thick  lips,  and  an  expression  of  gentleness  in 
the  mouth,  strongly  contrasted  with  a  gloomy  and  se- 
vere look.  Their  hair  is  coarse,  but  smooth,  and  so 
glossy  as  to  appear  in  a  constant  state  of  humidity. 
They  share  with  the  rest  of  their  countrymen,  and 
with  most  races  of  very  swarthy  complexion,  an  ex- 
emption from  almost  every  species  of  deformity. 
Humboldt  never  saw  a  hunchbacked  Indian,  and 
squinting  and  lameness  are  very  rare.  They  escape 
the  goitre,  even  in  districts  where  it  is  prevalent. 
None  of  the  causes  which  have  been  assigned  for  this 
exemption  in  nomadic  nations,  can  apply  to  a  labori- 
ous, agricultural  race  like  the  Mexican  Indians ;  and 
therefore,  this  immunity  must  depend  on  something 
peculiar  in  their  structure. 

It  has  been  supposed  that  few  attain  an  advanced  age, 
because  none  of  them  are  ever  seen  with  grey  hair. 
Yet  it  is  not  uncommon  for  a  peaceful  cultivator  to  b$ 
7* 


78  THE    MEXICAN    INDIANS. 

vigorous  at  the  age  of  an  hundred  years.  The  extrav- 
agant use  of  pulque,  especially  in  respect  to  those  who 
frequent  the  markets  of  the  capital,  has  a  very  debas- 
ing influence.  The  police  of  the  city  are  accus- 
tomed to  send  round  tumbrils  to  collect  the  drunk- 
ards, like  so  many  dead  bodies.  These  are  punished 
by  being  chained,  and  made  to  work  in  the  streets  for 
several  days. 

Although  most  of  the  Aztec  nobles  perished  in  the 
ruin  of  their  country,  yet  some  still  remain,  and  are 
looked  upon  with  veneration  by  their  countrymen. 
They  are  usually  invested  with  the  government  of 
the  villages,  and  are  accused  of  exercising  their  power 
in  a  tyrannical  manner,  even  over  their  kindred  race. 

The  Indians  pay  a  tribute  or  capitation  tax,  varying 
at  different  times  and  places,  from  one  to  five  dollars. 
A  few  of  them  have  amassed  considerable  wealth: 
but  in  general,  they  labor  under  severe  poverty. 
They  bear  the  aspect  of  a  depraved  and  depressed 
people,  and  the  beauty  of  the  females  which  seemed 
to  excite  the  admiration  of  Cortes  and  his  companions, 
has  generally  departed.  A  recent  observer  describes 
them  in  the  following  terms.  "  The  common  Indians 
whom  we  see  every  day  bringing  in  their  fruit  and 
vegetables  to  market,  are,  generally  speaking,  very 
plain,  with  a  humble,  mild  expression  of  countenance, 
very  gentle  and  wonderfully  polite  in  their  manners 
to  each  other ;  but  occasionally  in  the  lower  classes, 
one  sees  a  face  and  form  so  beautiful,  that  we  might 
suppose  such  another  was  the  Indian  who  enchanted 
Cortes ;  with  eyes  and  hair  of  extraordinary  beauty, 
a  complexion  dark,  but  glowing,  with  the  Indian 


THE    MEXICAN    INDIANS.  7V 

beauty  of  teeth  like  the  driven  snow,  together  with 
small  feet  and  beautifully  shaped  hands  and  arms, 
however  imbrowned  by  sun  and  toil." 

Notwithstanding  their  degradation,  the  Indians  ap- 
pear to  be  gifted  with  a  clear  apprehension,  a  natural 
logic,  and  a  capacity  for  cool  and  even  subtle  reason- 
ing, but  to  be  destitute  of  any  warmth  of  imagination, 
or  flow  of  sentiment.  Yet,  the  love  of  flowers,  for 
which  they  have  been  remarkable  since  the  conquest, 
seems  to  indicate  a  taste  for  the  beautiful.  In  the 
public  market  of  the  capital,  the  Mexican  shrouds 
himself  with  an  entrenchment  of  verdure,  and  the 
ground  around  him  is  embellished  with  festoons  of 
flowers  which  are  daily  renewed.  They  evince  a 
great  attachment  to  the  arts  of  painting  and  carving, 
and  imitate  with  great  facility  any  models  which  are 
presented  to  them.  A  peculiar  apathy  marks  the 
deportment  of  the  Mexican  Indian.  He  is  grave, 
gloomy  and  silent;  he  seems  to  throw  a  mysterious 
air  over  the  most  indifferent  actions,  yet  is  often  seen 
to  pass  at  once  from  a  state  of  seemingly  profound 
repose  to  one  of  violent  and  unrestrained  agitation. 

The  Indians  are  almost  entirely  destitute  of  every 
species  of  education,  except  such  as  they  acquire  by 
observation.  They  have  lost  the  means  of  instruction 
afforded  by  their  own  priesthood,  and  the  Spanish 
government  have  made  no  provision  to  supply  their 
place.  They  have,  however,  adopted  some  Spanish 
customs.  It  is  not  uncommon  to  see  them  playing 
the  guitar  or  to  hear  them  singing  simple  European 
airs.  The  Catholic  religion  was  pressed  upon  them 
by  the  Romish  priests  and  monks,  who  flocked  to 


80  THE    MEXICAN    INDIANS. 

South  America.  So  intent  were  they,  that  long 
before  they  were  themselves  sufficiently  acquainted 
with  the  language  of  the  Indians  to  explain  to  them 
the  mysteries  of  their  faith,  or  the  precepts  of  duty, 
they  received  them  into  their  church  and  baptized 
them.  While  this  rage  for  conversion  continued,  a 
single  missionary  baptized  in  one  day  above  five  thou- 
sand, and  did  not  desist  until  he  was  so  exhausted  by 
fatigue,  that  he  was  unable  to  raise  his  hands.  Not- 
withstanding they  seemed  to  consent  to  Christianity, 
when  out  of  the  reach  of  the  Spaniards  they  returned 
to  their  idolatrous  rites. 

It  may,  however,  be  observed,  that  the  Romish  re- 
ligion seems  to  have  been  sown  here  in  a  soil  not 
wholly  unprepared  for  its  reception.  Even  at  the  time 
of  the  conquest,  certain  Christian  rites  and  notions  of 
morality  appear  to  have  existed  among  the  Mexi- 
cans, strangely  blent  with  their  heathen  idolatries. 
We  have  already  noticed  the  ceremony  of  baptism, 
and  we  may  add  that  the  symbol  of  the  cross  was 
already  known  long  before  the  arrival  of  Cortes. 
There  was  a  temple  at  Cholula  dedicated  to  the  holy 
cross,  by  the  Toltecs,  the  predecessors  of  the  Mexican 
race.  At  Yucatan  and  other  places,  this  emblem 
was  common.  These  and  other  equally  singular 
facts  have  led  to  various  theories,  one  of  which  is, 
that  St.  Thomas  was  a  missionary  to  these  regions ! 
We  need  hardly  add,  that  the  subject  remains  involved 
in  inscrutable  mystery. 

The  Spaniards  consider  the  Indians  as  being  now 
converted  to  the  Christian  faith  ;  and  this  might  seem 
to  be  justified  by  their  devotion  to  catholic  ceremo- 


THE    MEXICAN    INDIANS.  8t 

^ 

nies.  An  able  writer,  however,  remarks  that  "  the 
change  has  evidently  been  not  a  change  of  creed,  but 
a  commutation  of  one  ceremony  for  another,  and  in 
some  cases  their  ancient  ceremonies  are  retained. 
Humboldt  seems  to  suppose  that  they  merely  consid- 
ered the  Spanish  gods  to  have  vanquished  their  gods, 
and  thence  to  have  been  entitled  to  their  homage. 
They  even  persuaded  themselves,  and  it  is  said  were 
assured  by  the  Spaniards,  that  the  emblem  of  the 
third  person  in  the  Trinity,  was  identical  with  the 
sacred  Mexican  eagle.  Be  this  as  it  may,  the  Mexi- 
cans display  an  extraordinary  ardor  in  adorning  the 
churches  with  pictures  and  statues,  and  in  collecting 
and  grouping  flowers,  fruits  and  every  thing  which 
can  increase  the  splendor  of«religious  festivals.  But 
their  favorite  form  of  worship  is  dancing  'round  the 
altar,  and  with  astonishment  is  it  perceived  that  these 
dances  are  the  same  with  which  their  ancestors  cele- 
brated the  immolation  of  human  victims  to  the  dread- 
ful god  of  war.  The  warrior  departs  attired  in  the 
full  costume  of  the  days  of  Montezuma;  he  meets 
another;  fights,  vanquishes  and  drags  him  by  the  hair 
before  the  emperor.  The  spectator  almost  expects  to 
see  the  blood  begin  to  flow."  We  have  already  men- 
tioned the  fact,  that  when  the  image  of  the  goddess 
of  war  that  is  sunk  in  the  square  of  the  cathedral, 
was  dug  up  for  the  purpose  of  taking  a  cast  of  it,  the 
Indians  dressed  it  with  flowers.  Some  of  them  also 
remarked,  that  after  the  cordial  manner  in  which  they 
had  leceived  the  Spanish  gods,  they  might  have  been 
allowed  to  retain  a  few  of  their  own. 

The  season  called  holy  week,  is  noticed  in  the  city 

F 


82  THE    MEXICAN    INDIANS. 

of  Mexico  with  a  vast  deal  of  religious  ceremonial: 
in  the  country  there  are  melodramatic  representations 
of  the  sufferings,  death  and  burial  of  Christ.  In  these, 
the  Indians  take  a  peculiar  interest,  as  they  seem 
suited  to  their  taste  and  capacity.  The  following 
description  from  a  work  already  quoted,*  gives  a 
good  idea  of  these  scenes.  The  place  at  which  the 
events  occurred,  was  Coyohuacan,  in  the  vicinity  of 
Mexico. 

"  The  first  evening  we  arrived  here,  there  was  a 
representation  of  the  Pharisees  searching  for  Christ. 
These  were  very  finely  dressed  either  in  scarlet  stuff 
and  gold,  or  in  green  and  silver,  with  helmets  and 
feathers,  mounted  upon  horses  which  are  taught  to 
dance  and  rear  to  the  sound  of  music,  so  that  upon 
the  whole,  they  looked  like  performers  at  Astley's. 
They  came  on  with  music,  riding  up  the  lanes  until 
they  arrived  in  front  of  this  house,  which  being  the 
principal  place  hereabouts  they  came  to  first,  and 
where  the  Indian  workmen  and  servants  were  all 
collected  to  see  them.  They  rode  about  for  some  time, 
as  if  in  search  of  Christ,  until  a  full  length  figure  of 
the  Saviour  appeared,  dressed  in  purple  robes,  carried 
on  a  platform  by  four  men  and  guarded  on  all  sides 
by  soldiers.  It  is  singular  thai  after  all,  there  is 
nothing  ridiculous  in  these  exhibitions ;  on  the  con- 
trary, something  rather  terrible.  In  the  first  place, 
the  music  is  good,  which  would  hardly  be  the  case  in 
any  but  a  Mexican  village ;  the  dresses  are  really 
rich,  the  gold  all  real,  and  the  whole  has  the  effect  of 

*"-Life  in  Mexico,  by  Madame  C.  de  B.,"  an  exceedingly 
clever  performance,  giving  a  lively  view  of  Mexican  manners 


THE    MEXICAN   INDIANS.  83 

confusing  the  imagination  into  the  belief  of  its  being 
a  true  scene. 

"  The  next  evening  the  same  procession  passed,  with 
some  additions,  always  accompanied  by  a  crowd  of 
Indians  from  the  villages,  men,  women  and  children. 
Bonfires  were  made  before  the  door  of  the  hacienda, 
which  were  lighted  whenever  the  distant  music  was 
heard  approaching,  and  all  the  figures  in  the  proces- 
sion carried  lighted  lamps.  The  Saviour  was  then 
led  up  to  the  door,  and  all  the  crowd  went  up  to  kiss 
his  feet.  The  figure  which  is  carried  about  this  eve- 
ning, is  called  "  Our  Saviour  of  the  Column,"  and 
represents  the  Saviour  tied  to  a  pillar,  bleeding  and 
crowned  with  thorns.  All  this  must  sound  very  pro- 
fane, but  the  people  are  so  quiet,  seem  so  devout,  and 
so  much  in  earnest,  that  it  appears  much  less  so  than 
you  would  believe. 

"  The  cross  was  planted  here  in  a  congenial  soil, 
and  as  in  the  Pagan  East,  the  statues  of  the  divinities 
frequently  did  no  more  than  change  their  names  from 
those  of  heathen  gods  to  those  of  Christian  saints,  and 
image  worship  apparently  continued,  though  the  mind 
of  the  Christian  was  directed  from  the  being  repre- 
sented to  the  true  and  only  God  who  inhabits  eternity. 
So  here  the  poor  Indian  still  bows  before  visible  rep- 
resentations of  saints  and  virgins,  as  he  did  in  former 
days  before  the  monstrous  shapes  representing  the  un- 
seen powers  of  the  air,  the  earth, and  the  water;  but  he, 
it  is  to  be  feared,  lifts  his  thoughts  no  higher  than  what 
the  rude  hand  has  carved.  The  mysteries  of  Chris- 
tianity, to  affect  his  untutored  mind,  must  be  visibly 
represented  to  his  eyes.  He  kneels  before  the  bleed- 


84  THE    MEXICAN    INDIANS. 

ing  image  of  the  Saviour  who  died  for  him,  before 
the  gracious  form  of  the  Virgin  who  intercedes  for 
him ;  but  he  believes  that  there  are  many  Virgins, 
and  possessing  various  degrees  of  miraculous  power, 
and  different  degrees  of  wealth,  according  to  the  qual- 
ity and  number  of  the  diamonds  and  pearls  with 
which  they  are  endowed, — one  even  who  is  the  rival 
of  the  other,  one  who  will  bring  rain  when  there  is 
drought,  and  one  to  whom  it  is  well  to  pray  in  sea- 
sons of  inundations." 

Among  the  many  acts  of  injustice  inflicted  upon  the 
nation  by  the  Spaniards,  it  is  pleasant  to  record  an 
incident  of  another  character,  and  which  happened 
under  the  viceroyalty  of  a  Spaniard,  distinguished  for 
his  vigor  in  the  discharge  of  official  duty.  The  story 
is  as  follows: 

"  A  poor  Indian  appeared  before  the  viceroy,  and 
stated  that  he  had  found  in  the  street  a  bag  full  of 
golden  ounces,  which  had  been  advertised,  with  the 
promise  of  a  handsome  reward  to  the  person  who 
should  restore  them  to  the  owner;  that  upon  carry- 
ing it  to  the  Don he  received  the  bag,  counted 

the  ounces,  extracted  two,  which  he  had  seen  him  slip 
into  his  pocket ;  and  had  then  reproached  the  poor 
man  with  having  stolen  part  of  the  money,  had  called 
him  a  thief  and  rascal,  and  instead  of  rewarding,  had 
driven  him  from  the  house.  With  the  viceroy  there 
was  no  delay, — immediate  action  was  his  plan.  De- 
taining the  Indian,  he  despatched  an  officer  to  desire 

the  attendance  of  Don with  his  bag  of  ounces. 

He  came  and  the  viceroy  desired  him  to  relate  the  cir- 
cumstances, his  practised  eye  reading  his  falsehood  at 


THE    MEXICAN   INDIANS.  85 

n  glance.  '  May  it  please  your  Excellency,  I  lost  a 
bag  containing  gold.  The  Indian  now  in  your  Excel- 
lency's presence,  brought  it  to  me  in  hopes  of  a  re- 
ward, having  first  stolen  part  of  the  contents.  I  drove 
him  from  the  house  as  a  thief,  who,  instead  of  recom- 
pense, deserves  punishment.' 

" '  Stay,'  said  the  viceroy,  '  there  is  some  mistake 
here.  How  many  ounces  were  in  the  bag  you  lost? ' 
'Twenty-eight.'  'And  how  many  are  here?'  'But 
twenty  six/  'Count  them  down.  I  see  it  is  as  you 
say.  The  case  is  clear,  and  we  have  all  been  mis- 
taken. Had  this  Indian  been  a  thief,  he  would  never 
have  brought  back  the  bag,  and  stolen  merely  two 
ounces.  He  would  have  kept  the  whole.  It  is  evi- 
dent that  this  is  not  your  bag,  but  another  which  this 
poor  man  has  found.  Sir,  our  interview  is  at  an 
end.  Continue  to  search  for  your  bag  of  gold  ;  and  as 
for  yon,  friend,  since  you  cannot  find  the  true  owner, 
sweep  up  these  twenty-six  pieces  and  carry  them 
away.  They  are  yours.'  So  saying,  his  excellency 
bowed  out  the  discomfited  cheat  and  the  overjoyed 
rustic." 

The  following  sketch,  of  the  Indians  of  Uruapa,  is 
derived  from  the  same  source  as  the  preceding  ex- 
tracts, and  will  give  an  idea  of  the  condition  of  the 
people  in  a  large  part  of  Mexico. 

The  dress  of  the  Indian  women  here,  is  pretty, — 
and  they  are  altogether  a  much  cleaner  and  better- 
looking  race  than  we  have  yet  seen.  They  wear 
"  naguas,"  a  petticoat  of  black  cotton,  with  a  narrow 
stripe,  made  very  full  and  rather  long;  over  this,  a 
sort  of  short  chemise  made  of  coarse  white  cotton,  and 
v.— 8 


86  THE    MEXICAN   INDIANS. 

embroidered  in  different  colored  silks.  It  is  called  the 
sntunacua, — over  all  is  a  black  reboso,  striped  with 
white  and  blue,  with  a  handsome  silk  fringe  of  the 
same  colors.  When  they  are  married,  they  add  a 
white  embroidered  veil  and  a  remarkably  pretty  col- 
ored mantle,  which  they  call  guipil.  The  hair  is 
divided,  and  falls  down  behind  in  two  long  plaits, 
fastened  at  the  top  by  a  bow  of  ribbon  and  a  flower. 
In  this  dress,  there  is  no  alteration  from  what  they 
wore  in  former  days :  saving,  that  a  woman  of  a 
higher  class,  wore  a  dress  of  fine  cotton,  with  more 
embroidery,  and  a  loose  garment  over  all,  resembling 
a  priest's  surplice,  when  the  weather  was  cold. 
Among  the  men,  the  introduction  of  trousers  is  Span- 
ish,— but  they  still  wear  the  majtlatl,  a  broad  belt 
with  the  ends  tied  before  and  behind,  and  the  tilmaili 
or  tilma  as  they  now  call  it,  a  sort  of  square,  short 
cloak,  the  ends  of  which  are  tied  across  the  breast  or 
over  one  shoulder. 

A  number  of  the  old  Indian  customs  are  still  kept 
up  here,  modified  by  the  introduction  of  Christian 
doctiines  in  their  marriages,  feasts,  burials  and  super- 
stitious practices.  They  also  preserve  the  same  sim- 
plicity in  their  dress,  united  with  the  same  vanity 
and  love  of  show  in  their  ornaments  which  always 
distinguished  them.  The  poorest  Indian  woman  still 
wears  a  necklace  of  red  coral,  or  a  dozen  rows  of  red 
beads,  and  their  dishes  are  still  the  gicalli,  or  as  they 
were  called  by  the  Spaniards  gicaras,  made  of  a  species 
of  gourd,  or  rather  a  fruit  resembling  it,  and  growing  on 
a  low  tree,  which  fruit  they  cut  in  two,  each  one  fur- 
nishing two  dishes  ;  the  inside  is  scooped  out,  and  a  du- 


THE    MEXICAN    INDIANS.  87 

ruble  varnish  given  it  by  means  of  a  mineral  earth  of 
different  bright  colors,  generally  red.  On  the  outside 
they  paint  flowers,  and  some  of  them  are  also  gilded. 
They  are  extremely  pretty,  very  durable  and  ingeni- 
ous. The  beautiful  colors  which  they  employ  in 
painting  these  gicaras  are  composed  not  only  of  vari- 
ous mineral  productions,  but  of  the  wood,  leaves  and 
flowers  of  certain  plants,  of  whose  properties  they  have 
no  despicable  knowledge.  Their  own  dresses,  manu- 
factured by  themselves  of  cotton,  are  extremely  pretty, 
and  many  of  them  very  fine." 

As  already  stated,  the  present  population  of  Mexico 
is  about  8,000,000.  These  consist  of  four  classes ;  the 
native  Spaniards,  who  are  in  a  depressed  state  since 
the  revolution,  and  amount  only  to  a  few  thousands ; 
Spaniards  born  in  the  country,  called  Creoles,  and 
constituting  the  most  wealthy  and  influential  class; 
the  mixed  castes,  a  numerous  body,  and  the  Indians. 

The  Creoles  are  many  of  them  descended  from  the 
first  conquerors,  and  are  not  only  proud  of  their  de- 
scent, but  having  engrossed  the  greater  part  of  the 
mines  and  other  sources  of  wealth,  are  the  proprietors 
of  the  substance  of  the  country.  They  are  fond  of 
splendor  in  dress  and  equipage,  and  delight  to  appear 
on  fine  horses  gaily  caparisoned.  An  income  of 
200,000  dollars  a  year,  is  not  uncommon  among  them. 
One  individual  has  been  known  to  receive  1,200,000 
dollars  a  year  from  his  mines  alone.  This  wealthy 
and  dominant  portion  of  the  community  is  much  ad- 
dicted to  gaming  and  other  kinds  of  dissipation. 

The  white  race  altogether,  is  estimated  at  1,500,000: 
the  Mestizoes  may  be  2,500,000,  and  the  Indians 


83  THE    MEXICAN    INDIANS. 

4,000,000.  These  constitute  the  lowest  and  most  de- 
pressed rank,  and  may  be  considered  as  the  cerfs  of 
the  country.  Their  number  is  about  half  what  it  was 
at  the  time  of  the  conquest.  The  history  of  the  wars 
by  which  thousands  of  them  were  slain ;  of  their  being 
compelled  to  work  in  mines,  by  which  many  per- 
ished, and  multitudes  were  led  to  put  an  end  to  their 
unhappy  existence;  with  the  continued  pressure  of 
despotism  for  three  centuries,  and  the  consequent 
degradation,  will  sufficiently  explain  this  wasting  of 
the  race.  It  is  painful  to  admit,  in  taking  leave  of 
this  renowned  nation,  that  the  future  seems  to  offer  a 
prospect  but  little  brighter  than  that  which  lies  in  the 
backward  view  of  the  dark  and  painful  past. 


ANTIQUITIES  OF  CENTRAL  AMERICA. 


THE  country  which  was  formerly  known  under  the 
name  of  Guatimala,  has  recently  adopted  a  republican 
government,  and  is  known  by  the  title  of  Central 
America.  It  lies  to  the  south  of  Mexico,  and  consists 
in  part  of  the  isthmus  which  connects  North  and  South 
America.  The  country  is  mountainous,  and  has  at 
least  twenty  volcanoes  in  constant  activity.  Its  chief 
livers  are  the  Chiapa  and  St.  Juan,  and  the  principal 
S* 


90  ANTIQUITIES    OF    CENTBAL   AMERICA. 

lakes  Nicaragua  and  Leon.  The  western  coast  is 
subject  to  terrific  earthquakes,  which  have  over- 
whelmed cities,  and  exterminated  complete  tribes  of 
people.  It  is  a  prolific  country,  abounding  in  the  use- 
ful and  luscious  products  of  nature. 

At  the  time  of  the  invasion  of  Cortes,  this  and  the 
adjacent  territories  were  occupied  by  the  Toltecs,  who 
appear  to  have  moved  hither,  and  farther  south,  after 
their  departure  from  Mexico.  The  country  was  then 
exceedingly  populous,  and  was  studded  with  numerous 
and  flourishing  cities. 

The  country  of  Guatimala  was  occupied  by  a  peo- 
ple called  Quiches.  Their  king  was  Tecum  Umam, 
and  their  capital  Utatlan.  A  Spanish  commander 
named  Alvarado  was  despatched  by  Cortes  to  conquer 
this  country.  In  this  he  succeeded,  after  many  des- 
perate struggles.  Six  battles  took  place  on  the  banks 
of  the  river  Zimala,  which  in  that  vicinity  received 
the  title  of  the  River  of  Blood. 

At  this  time  Utatlan  abounded  in  palaces  and  other 
sumptuous  edifices,  being  hardly  surpassed  in  splendor 
by  Mexico  and  Cuzco.  It  was  encompassed  by  a  lofty 
wall,  and  was  capable  of  being  entered  only  at  two 
points ;  on  one  side  by  a  causeway,  and  on  the  other 
by  a  flight  of  steps.  Within,  the  buildings  stood  high 
and  compact.  In  the  hope  of  exterminating  their  ene- 
mies, the  Quiches  invited  the  Spaniards  into  their  capi- 
tal, pretending  a  willingness  to  submit.  After  their 
entrance,  the  Quiches  set  fire  to  the  city,  and  if  the 
Indians  of  another  tribe  had  not  been  false  to  their 
countrymen,  Alvarado  and  his  followers  would  have 
perished.  Having  escaped  this  danger,  the  Spaniards 


ANTIQUITIES   OF   CENTRAL   AMERICA.  91 

pursued  their  victorious  course  until  all  opposition  was 
crushed,  and  in  1524  laid  the  foundation  of  the  city  of 
Guatimala. 

The  bigpt  rage  of  the  Spaniards  was  directed  not 
only  against  the  superstitions  of  the  Indians,  with  the 
temples  and  idols  consecrated  to  them,  but  even  against 
the  palaces  and  other  monuments  of  the  people  whom 
they  conquered.  The  city  of  Mexico,  as  is  well  known, 
was  totally  destroyed  by  Cortes.  The  other  cities  of 
Mexico  and  Guatimala  were  in  process  of  time  de- 
populated, fell  into  decay,  and  their  ruins  became  so 
overgrown  with  trees  that  all  knowledge  of  them  for 
the  most  part  was  lost.  Dr.  Robertson,  in  a  note  to 
his  History  of  America,  makes  the  following  state- 
ment : — "  I  am  informed  by  a  person  who  resided  long 
in  New  Spain,  and  visited  almost  every  province  of 
it,  that  there  is  not  in  all  the  extent  of  that  vast  empire, 
any  monument  or  vestige  of  any  building  more  ancient 
than  the  conquest !  "  The  author  of  another  account 
in  manuscript  observes  that  "  at  this  day  there  does  net 
remain  even  the  smallest  vestige  of  the  existence  of 
nny  ancient  Indian  building,  public  or  private,  either 
in  Mexico  or  in  any  province  of  New  Spain."  In  the 
course  of  the  last  century,  however,  some  vague  ac- 
counts reached  Europe  respecting  the  ruins  of  an 
ancient  city  at  Palenque,  on  the  southern  border  of 
Mexico.  These  were  explored  by  order  of  the  Span- 
ish government,  and  found  to  exhibit  architecture  and 
sculpture  of  a  very  extraordinary  character.  But  such 
was  the  jealousy  of  this  government,  that  the  results 
of  these  researches  were  for  a  long  time  concealed  from 
the  world. 


92  ANTIQUITIES    OF    CENTKAL    AMERICA. 

The  first  new  light  thrown  upon  the  subject  of 
Mexican  antiquities  was  by  the  celebrated  traveller 
Humboldt,  who  visited  the  country  at  a  time  when  by 
the  cautious  policy  of  the  government,  it  was  almost 
as  much  closed  against  strangers  as  the  empire  of 
China.  The  monuments  of  the  country  were  not  a 
leading  object  of  his  inquiries,  but  he  collected  from, 
various  sources  information,  and  drawings  of  many 
antiquities,  particularly  of  those  at  Mitla,  in  the  south- 
ern part  of  Mexico : — this  name  is  a  contraction  of  the 
word  Miguitlan,  signifying,  in  the  Mexican  language, 
the  Place  of  Woe,  or  Desolation.  The  term  appears 
to  have  been  well  chosen  for  a  site  so  dreary  and  lugu- 
brious that,  according  to  the  narration  of  travellers, 
the  warbling  of  birds  is  there  scarcely  ever  heard. 
According  to  the  traditions  that  have  been  preserved, 
this  was  the  spot  where  the  ashes  of  the  Tzapotec 
princes  reposed.  The  sovereign,  at  the  death  of  a  son 
or  brother,  withdrew  into  one  of  the  habitations  which 
were  here  erected  over  the  tombs,  to  deliver  himself 
up  to  grief  and  religious  rites.  These  edifices  are 
now  in  ruins,  but  the  plans  of  five  separate  buildings 
have  been  made  out,  and  they  seem  to  have  been  dis- 
posed with  great  regularity.  The  walls  of  these  build- 
ings were  covered  with  ornaments  consisting  of  mosaic 
and  carved  work,  remarkable  for  their  elegance.  In 
the  neighborhood  of  these  ruins  are  the  remains  of  a 
great  pyramid. 

Another  singular  monument  of  which  Humboldt 
obtained  information,  was  Xochicalco  or  the  House  of 
Flowers,  near  the  city  of  Cuernuvaca.  This  struc- 
ture consists  of  five  stories  or  terraces,  narrowing  as 


ANTIQUITIES    OF    CENTKAL    AMERICA.  93 

they  ascend,  and  about  sixty  feet  high.  The  platform 
at  the  summit  is  a  square  of  200  feet  by  280.  In  the 
centre  of  this  square  are  the  remains  of  a  pyramidal 
structure  five  more  stories  in  height.  Every  traveller 
has  been  struck  with  the  polish  and  cut  of  the  stones, 
and  the  nicety  with  which  they  are  joined  without 
cement.  These  stones  are  covered  with  sculptures, 
among  which  are  figures  of  the  heads  of  crocodiles 

O  O 

spouting  water,  and  men  sitting  cross-legged  according 
to  the  Asiastic  custom.  Notwithstanding  these  orna- 
ments it  is  evident  that  Xochicalco  was  designed  for  a 
military  fortress.  The  terraces  are  furnished  with 
stone  battlements,  and  the  whole  structure  is  surround- 
ed by  a  deep  and  very  broad  ditch,  so  that  the  whole 
fortification  is  above  two  miles  in  circumference. 
Humboldt  assures  us  that  on  the  heights  of  the  Cor- 
dilleras of  Peru  he  has  seen  monuments  still  larger 
than  this ;  and  that  the  American  works  of  this  class 
resemble  those  which  are  daily  discovered  in  the  east- 
ern parts  of  Asia. 

The  most  successful  of  all  the  explorers  of  these 
antiquities  has  been  Mr.  Stephens,  who  made  two  expe- 
ditions to  this  part  of  the  world  for  the  purpose  of 
antiquarian  research.  It  is  to  his  works  that  we  are 
indebted  for  the  substance  of  the  following  description. 
The  first  ruins  which  he  visited  were  those  of  Copan, 
which  stand  on  the  branch  of  a  small  river  falling  into 
the  bay  of  Honduras.  Copan  was  once  a  very  large 
and  well-built  city,  but  the  ruins  are  now  almost  en- 
tirely overgrown  with  trees.  Many  remains  of  the 
city  wall  are  to  be  seen,  of  cut  stone,  well  laid,  and  in 
good  preservation.  "  We  ascended,"  says  the  travel- 


94 


ANTIQUITIES    OF    CENTRAL   AMERICA. 


ler,  "  by  large  stone  steps,  in  some  places  perfect,  and 
in  others  thrown  down  by  trees  which  had  grown  up 


between  the  crevices,  and  reached  a  terrace,  the  form 
of  which  it  was  impossible  to  make  out  from  the 
density  of  the  forest  in  which  it  was  enveloped.  Our 
guide  cleared  a  way  with  his  matchete  (chopping-knife) 
and  we  passed,  as  it  lay  half  buried  in  the  earth,  a 
large  fragment  of  stone,  elaborately  sculptured,  and 
came  to  the  angle  of  a  structure,  with  steps  on  the 
sides,  in  form  and  appearance,  so  far  as  the  trees  would 
enable  us  to  make  it  out,  like  the  sides  of  a  pyramid. 
Diverging  from  the  base,  and  working  our  way  through 


ANTIQUITIES   OF  CENTRAL   AMERICA.  95 

the  thick  wood?,  we  came  upon  a  square  stone  column 
about  fourteen  feet  high  and  three  feet  on  each  side, 
sculptured  in  very  bold  relief  on  all  four  of  the  sides 
from  the  base  to  the  top.  The  front  was  the  figure 
of  a  man,  curiously  and  richly  dressed,  and  the  face, 
evidently  a  portrait,  solemn,  stern,  and  well  fitted  to 
excite  terror.  The  back  was  of  a  different  design,  un- 
like anything  we  had  ever  seen  before,  and  the  sides 
were  covered  with  hieroglyphics.  This  our  guide 
called  an  idol,  and  before  it  at  a  distance  of  three  feet 
was  a  large  block  of  stone,  also  sculptured  with  fig- 
ures and  emblematical  devices,  which  he  called  an 
altar.  The  sight  of  this  monument  put  at  rest,  at 
once  and  forever  in  our  minds,  all  uncertainty  in  re- 
gard to  the  character  of  American  antiquities,  and 
gave  us  the  assurance  that  the  objects  we  were  in 
search  of  were  interesting,  not  only  as  the  remains  of 
an  unknown  people,  but  as  works  of  art ;  proving, 
like  newly  discovered  historical  records,  that  the  peo- 
ple who  once  occupied  the  continent  of  America,  were 
not  savages. 

"  With  an  interest  perhaps  stronger  than  we  had 
ever  felt  in  wandering  among  the  ruins  of  Egypt,  we 
followed  our  guide,  who,  sometimes  missing  his  way, 
with  a  constant  use  of  his  machete,  conducted  us 
through  the  thick  forest,  among  half  buried  fragments, 
to  fourteen  monuments  of  the  same  character  and  ap- 
pearance; some  with  more  elegant  designs,  and  some 
in  workmanship  equal  to  the  finest  monuments  of  the 
Egyptians;  one  displaced  from  its  pedestal  by  enor- 
mous roots,  another  locked  in  the  close  embrace  of 
branches  of  trees  and  almost  lifted  out  of  the  earth : 


96  ANTIQUITIES   OF    CENTRAL   AMERICA. 

another  hurled  to  the  ground  and  bowed  down  by 
huge  vines  and  creepers:  and  one  standing  with  its 
altar  before  it,  in  a  grove  of  trees  which  grew  around 
it,  seemingly  to  shade  and  shroud  it  as  a  sacred  thing: 
in  the  solemn  stillness  of  the  woods,  it  seemed  a  di- 
vinity mourning  over  a  fallen  people.  The  only 
sounds  that  disturbed  the  quiet  of  this  buried  city, 
were  the  noise  of  monkeys  moving  among  the  tops  of 
the  trees  and  the  cracking  of  dry  branches  broken  by 
their  weight.  They  moved  over  our  heads  in  long  and 
swift  processions,  forty  or  fifty  at  a  time,  some  with 
little  ones  wound  in  their  long  arms,  walking  out  to 
the  end  of  boughs  and  holding  on  with  their  hind  feet 
or  a  curl  of  the  tail,  sprang  to  a  branch  of  the  next 
tree,  and  with  a  noise  like  a  current  of  wind,  passed 
on  into  the  depths  of  the  forest.  It  was  the  first  time 
we  had  seen  these  mockeries  of  humanity,  and  with 
the  strange  monuments  around  us,  they  seemed  like 
wandering  spirits  of  the  departed  race  guarding  the 
ruins  of  their  former  habitations. 

"  We  returned  to  the  base  of  the  pyramidal  structure, 
and  ascended  by  regular  stone  steps,  in  some  places 
forced  apart  by  bushes  and  saplings,  and  in  others, 
thrown  down  by  the  growth  of  large  trees,  while  some 
remained  entire.  In  parts  they  were  ornamented  with 
sculptured  figures  and  rows  of  death's  heads.  Climb- 
ing over  the  ruined  top,  we  reached  a  terrace  overgrown 
with  trees,  and  crossing  it,  descended  by  stone  steps  into 
an  area  so  covered  with  trees  that  at  first  we  could  not 
make  out  its  form,  but  which,  on  clearing  ihe  way  with 
the  machete,  we  ascertained  to  be  a  square,  and  with 
steps  on  all  the  sides  almost  as  perfect  as  those  of  the 


ANTIQUITIES   OF   CENTRAL   AMERICA.  97 

Roman  amphitheatre.  The  steps  were  ornamented 
with  sculpture,  and  on  the  south  side  about  halfway 
up,  forced  out  of  its  place  by  roots,  was  a  colossal 
head,  evidently  a  portrait.  We  ascended  these  steps 
and  reached  a  broad  terrace  a  hundred  feet  high, 
overlooking  the  river,  and  supported  by  the  wall  which 
we  had  seen  from  the  opposite  bank.  The  whole 
terrace  was  covered  with  trees,  and  even  at  this  height 
from  the  ground  were  two  gigantic  ceibas,  or  wild 
cotton  trees  of  India,  about  twenty  feet  in  circumfer- 
ence, extending  their  half-naked  roots  fifty  or  a  hun- 
dred feet  around,  binding  down  the  ruins  and  shading 
them  with  their  wide  spreading  branches.  We  sat 
down  on  the  very  edge  of  the  wall  and  strove  in  vain 
to  penetrate  the  mystery  by  which  we  were  sur- 
rounded. 

"  Trudging  once  more,  next  morning,  over  the  dis- 
trict which  contained  the  principal  monument,  we 
were  startled  by  the  immensity  of  the  work  before  us, 
and  very  soon  we  concluded,  that  to  explore  the  whole 
extent  would  be  impossible.  Our  guides  knew  only 
of  this  district,  but  having  seen  columns  beyond  the 
village,  a  league  distant,  we  had  reason  to  believe 
that  others  were  strewed  in  different  directions,  com- 
pletely buried  in  the  woods  and  entirely  unknown. 
The  woods  were  so  dense  that  it  was  almost  hopeless 
to  think  of  penetrating  them.  The  only  way  to  make 
a  thorough  exploration,  would  be  to  cut  down  the 
whole  forest  and  burn  the  trees.  This  was  incompa- 
tible with  our  immediate  purposes,  might  be  consid- 
ered taking  liberties,  and  could  only  be  done  in  tho 
dry  season.  After  deliberation,  we  resolved  first  to 
G  v.— 9 


93  ANTIQUITIES  o?  CENTRAL  AMERICA. 

obtain  drawings  of  the  sculptured  columns.  Even  in 
this  there  was  great  difficulty :  the  designs  were  very 
complicated  and  so  different  from  anything  Mr.  Cath- 
erwood  had  ever  seen  before,  as  to  be  perfectly-unin- 
telligible. The  cutting  was  in  very  high  relief,  and 
required  a  strong  body  of  light  to  bring  up  the  figures; 
and  the  foliage  was  so  thick  and  the  shade  so  deep, 
that  drawing  was  impossible. 

"After  much  consultation  we  selected  one  of  the 
idols,  and  determined  to  cut  down  the  trees  around  it 
and  thus  lay  it  open  to  the  rays  of  the  sun.  Here 
again  was  difficulty.  There  was  no  axe ;  and  the 
only  instrument  which  the  Indians  possessed  was  the 
machete,  which  varies  in  form  in  different  parts  of  the 
country.  Wielded  in  one  hand  it  was  useful  in  clear- 
ing away  shrubs  and  branches,  but  almost  harmless 
upon  large  tree>,  and  the  Indians,  as  in  the  days  when 
the  Spaniards  discovered  them,  applied  to  work  with- 
out ardor,  carried  it  on  with  little  activity,  and  like 
children  were  easily  diverted  from  it.  One  hacked 
into  a  tree,  and  when  tired,  which  happened  very 
soon,  sat  down  to  rest,  and  another  relieved  him. 
While  one  worked  there  were  always  several  looking 
on.  I  remembered  the  ring  of  the  woodman's  axe  in 
the  forest  at  home,  and  wished  for  a  few  long-sided 
Green  Mountain  boys.  But  we  had  been  buffeted 
into  patience,  and  watched  the  Indians  while  they 
hacked  with  their  machetes,  and  even  wondered  that 
they  succeeded  so  well.  It  is  impossible  to  describe 
the  interest  with  which  I  explored  these  ruins.  The 
ground  was  entirely  new;  there  were  no  guide  books 
or  guides  ;  the  whole  was  a  virgin  soil.  We  could 


ANTIQUITIES    OF    CENTHAJL,    AMERICA.  99 

not  see  ten  yards  before  us,  and  never  knew  what  we 
should  stumble  upon  next.  At  one  time  we  stopped 
to  cut  away  branches  and  vines  which  concealed  the 
face  of  a  monument,  and  then  to  dig  around  and  bring 
to  light  a  fragment,  a  sculptured  corner  of  which  pro- 
truded from  the  earth.  I  leaned  over  with  breathless 
anxiety  while  the  Indians  worked,  and  an  eye,  an  ear, 
a  foot  or  a  hand  was  disentombed :  and  when  the 
machete  rang  against  the  chiseled  stone,  I  pushed  the 
Indians  away  and  cleared  out  the  loose  earth  with  my 
hands.  The  beauty  of  the  sculpture,  the  solemn 
stillness  of  the  woods,  disturbed  only  by  the  scramb- 
ling of  monkeys  and  the  chattering  of  parrots,  the 
desolation  of  the  city,  and  the  mystery  that  hung  over 
it,  all  created  an  interert  higher,  if  possible,  than  I  had 
ever  felt  among  the  ruins  of  the  Old  World." 

Many  drawings  of  the  sculptures  above  described, 
have  been  published  in  the  work  of  Mr.  Stephens. 
Viewed  with  reference  to  their  rank  as  works  of  art, 
they  may  be  placed  high  in  the  scale  of  architectural 
sculpture.  To  the  elegance  and  sublimity  of  the 
Greek  and  Roman  schools,  they  have  no  pretensions 
whatever;  nor  have  they  the  severe  grandeur  of  the 
best  specimens  of  the  Egyptian ;  but  they  appear  to 
be  vastly  superior  to  anything  which  India  or  China 
or  Japan  has  ever  produced.  Their  chief  merit  lies 
in  their  general  effect.  The  figures  are  ill  propor- 
tioned, and  even  hideous,  and  the  subordinate  parts 
confused  and  overcharged ;  but  they  differ  from  all 
the  barbarous  styles  of  sculpture  with  which  we  are 
acquainted,  in  this,  that  their  general  effect  is  not  only 
rich  and  beautiful,  but  dignified  and  imposing  to  a 


100 


ANTIQUITIES    OF    CENTRAL   AMERICA. 


degree  which  we  could  hardly  have  supposed  possible 
to  result  from  the  combining  of  so  many  uncouth  and 
incongruous  parts. 


Bus  relief  at  Ptdenque. 

At  Palenque,  in  Mexico,  are  very  interesting  anti 
quities,  surrounded  with  thick  woods,  like  those  of 
Copan.  They  consist  of  palaces  and  other  structures 
of  stone  abounding  in  sculptures.  As  works  of  art 
they  are  greatly  superior  to  the  antiquities  of  Co- 
pan.  All  of  these  are  built  on  high  terraces,  form- 
ing the  summit  of  a  truncated  pyramid.  The  largest 
structure  stands  on  an  artificial  elevation  of  an  oblong 
form,  forty  feet  high,  three  hundred  long,  and  two 


ANTIQUITIES    OF    CENTRAL    AMERICA.  101 

hundred  and  sixty  broad.  The  roof  of  the  building 
was  made  to  curve  in  a  sort  of  arch  by  successive 
layers  of  stones,  each  overlapping  that  immediately 
beneath  it,  and  plastered  over  so  as  to  represent  a 
smooth  curved  surface.  The  top  of  the  doorway  in 
the  middle  wall  is  by  this  means  wrought  into  an 
exact  resemblance  of  a  Gothic  arch*.  This  structure 
abounds  with  courts,  corridors,  galleries,  towers,  &c., 
and  was,  without  doubt,  a  royal  palace.  The  piers, 
or  square  columns,  of  which  there  are  many,  are  cov- 
ered with  bas  reliefs  in  stucco.  The  faces  of  the 
human  figures  are  all  in  profile,  which  seems  to  indi- 
cate the  want  of  a  sufficient  skill  to  delineate  the  front 
face :  but  the  limbs  are  correctly  formed,  and  fre- 
quently graceful.  There  is  also  some  attempt  to 
arrat.ge  the  figures  in  groups,  so  as  to  tell  a  story  ; 
and  <x  variety  of  expressions,  of  the  same  imperfect 
kind  as  is  seen  in  the  Egyptian  paintings,  can  be 
recognized  in  the  countenances.  On  one  piece  is 
represented  an  armed  warrior,  with  two  half-naked 
figures  crouching  submissively  on  either  side  of  him. 
On  another,  we  see  an  armed  warrior  brandishing  his 
weapon  over  the  head  of  a  person  who  seems  to  kneel 
and  beg  for  life.  On  another,  a  standing  figure  is 
placing  an  ornament  upon  a  person  sitting  in  front  of 
him,  &c. 

The  most  curious  among  all  the  sculptures  at  Pal- 
enque,  has  been  found  in  one  of  the  smaller  buildings. 
It  represents  an  ornamented  cross,  surmounted  by  the 
Quczale,  or  royal  bird  of  Quiche.  Two  persons, 
dressed  apparently  in  sacerdotal  garments,  stand  on 
the  right  and  left,  facing  the  cross,  and  one  of  them 
holds  out  something  as  an  offering,  which  appears  to 
C* 


102 


ANTIQUITIES    OF    CENTRAL    A.MERICA. 


be  a  young  child.  The  whole  representation  is  sur- 
roanded  by  hieroglyphics  which  no  one  has  been 
able  to  .decipher.  No  doubt  can  be  entertained  that 
these  sculptures  existed  previous  to  the  arrival  of  the 
Spaniards  in  America  ;  and  therefore  the  circumstance 
of  the  cross  being  found  represented  in  a  picture  of 
what  is  evidently'a  religious  ceremony,  has  given  rise 
to  much  curious  speculation.  'I  here  is  another  tablet 
which  is  almost  a  fac-simile  of  this ;  and  hieroglyphi- 
cal  characters  are  to  be  seen  in  other  parts  of  the 
ruins.  They  have  been  found  to  bear  a  close  resem- 
olance  to  those  exhibited  by  the  ancient  Mexican 
manuscripts. 


Ruins  at  Uzmnl. 


At  Uxmal,  in  Yucatan,  are  also  ancient  buildings 
in  good  preservation.  One  of  the?e,  as  described  by 
Mr.  Norman,  who  recently  visited  this  region,  stands 


ANTIQUITIES    OF    CENTRAL   AMERICA.  103 

on  three  ranges  of  terraces,  the  lowest  GOO  feet  long, 
and  the  whole  rising  to  the  height  of  35  feet,  all  built 
of  hewn  stone.  The  palace  upon  the  sumrnjt  is  320 
feet  in  length,  and  stands  with  all  its  walls  erect, 
almost  as  perfect  as  when  occupied  by  its  inhabitants. 
The  whole  building  is  of  stone,  plain  up  to  the  mould- 
ing that  runs  along  the  tops  of  the  doorway,  and  above, 
filled  with  rich  and  elaborate  sculpture  bearing  no 
resemblance  to  that  of  Copan  or  Palenque.  Among 
the  intelligible  subjects,  are  squares  and  diamonds, 
with  busts  of  human  beings,  heads  of  leopards,  com- 
positions of  leaves  and  flowers,  and  those  peculiar 
ornaments  known  in  Europe  as  grecques;  the  whole 
forming  an  extraordinary  mass  of  richness  and  com- 
plexity, with  an  effect  both  grand  and  curious.  There 
is  no  rudeness  or  barbarity  in  the  design  or  propor- 
tions of  the  building;  on  the  contrary,  the  whole 
wears  an  air  of  architectural  symmetry  and  grandeur  : 
and  as  the  stranger  ascends  the  steps,  and  casts  a 
bewildered  eye  along  its  open  and  desolate  doors,  it 
is  hard  to  believe  that  he  ,<>ec^3  before  him  the  work  of 
a  race  of  men  deserving  ;he  name  which  has  been 
bestowed  upon  them  by  their  historians,  of  savages, 
ignorant  of  art.  If  it  stood  at  this  day  in  one  of  the 
capitals  of  Europe,  it  would  form  a  new  order  of  ar- 
chitecture, if  not  equalling  the  remains  of  the  Egyp- 
tian, Grecian  and  Roman  art,  at  least  not  unworthy 
to  stand  side  by  side  with  them. 

The  antiquities  we  have  described,  are  only  a  por- 
tion of  what  may  be  seen  by  a  traveller  in  Central 
America:  tho=e  countries,  doubtless,  contain  the  re- 
mains of  many  ancient  cities,  yet  undiscovered.  But 


104  ANTIQUITIES    OF    CENTRAL    AMERICA. 

what  we  have  related  will  give  the  reader  an  insight 
into  the  state  of  civilization  which  existed  among  the 
uborigines  of  this  region  at  the  period  of  its  discovery 
by  the  Spaniards.  The  present  state  of  the  Indians 
of  Guatimala,  is  similar  to  that  of  those  in  Mexico. 
They  are  about  half  the  population  of  the  republic, 
which  is  1,200,000. 


INDIANS  OF   PERU, 


Manco  Capac  and  Mama  Qelh. 

PEKU  lies  on  the  western  coast  of  South  America, 
and  is  bordered  on  the  west  by  the  Pacific  Ocean.  It 
came  to  the  knowledge  of  the  Spaniards  about  the 
year  1513,  and  was  soon  after  visited  by  the  celebrated 
Francis  Pizarro.  In  1531,  this  adventurer  penetrated 
into  the  country  with  a  small  force,  seized  upon  the 
Inca,  or  emperor,  and  treacherously  put  him  to  death. 
He  then  proceeded  to  subjugate  the  kingdom  and 


106  INDIANS    OF    PEEtT, 

reduce  it  to  the  Spanish  authority.  It  remained  as  a 
dependency  of  Spain  till  the  year  1S20,  when  a  revo- 
lutionary war  broke  out,  which  resulted  in  the  inde- 
pendence of  the  country. 

The  early  history  of  this  region,  as  derived  from  the 
traditions  of  the  people — for  there  were  no  written  or 
pictured  records — was  as  follows  : — It  was  originally 
occupied  by  independent  tribes,  justly  reckoned  among 
the  most  savage,  even  in  America ;  living  more  like 
wild  beasts  than  men.  For  several  ages  they  lived  in 
this  manner,  when  suddenly  there  appeared  on  the 
banks  of  a  lake  called  Titicaca,  a  man  and  woman  of 
majestic  form  and  clothed  in  decent  garments.  They 
declared  themselves  to  be  the  Children  of  the  Sun, 
sent  by  their  Beneficent  Parent  to  instruct  and  reclaim 
mankind. 

The  names  of  these  two  extraordinary  personages 
were  Manco  Capac  and  Mama  Oello.  At  their  per- 
suasions, several  of  the  dispersed  savages  united,  and. 
receiving  their  commands  as  heavenly  injunctions,  fol- 
lowed them  to  Cuzco,  where  they  settled  and  began 
to  lay  the  foundations  of  a  city.  Manco  Capac  taught 
the  men  the  arts  of  agriculture,  and  his  wife  instructed 
the  women  in  spinning,  weaving,  and  other  house- 
hold duties. 

Manco  Capac,  whose  pride  would  acknowledge  no 
less  illustrious  an  ancestor  than  the  sun,  founded  the 
empire  of  Peru,  A.  D.  1025.  Whence  he  came  is 
not  known ;  but  it  has  been  suggested  that  Japan 
was  his  original  country.  At  any  rate,  after  high 
gales  of  wind,  junks  have  frequently  been  driven 
ashore  on  the  western  coast  of  America,  which  may 


INDIANS   OT   PBRTT.  107 

indicate  by  what  means  a  portion  of  the  settlers 
reached  Peru.  Be  his  derivation,  however,  what  it 
may,  Manco  Capac  and  his  lineal  successors  estab- 
lished regulations  so  judicious,  and  laws  so  wise, 
governed  with  such  ability,  and  reclaimed  so  many 
wild  tribes  from  savage  life,  that,  at  the  beginning  of 
the  sixteenth  century,  their  empire  extended  from  the 
river  Ancosmayu,  between  Pasto  and  Popayan,  to  the 
river  Maule,  in  Chili,  in  35  deg.  south,  a  length  of 
thirty-seven  degrees  of  latitude,  or  about  two  thousand 
miles  in  a  straight  line.  Its  breadth  varied  from  three 
hundred  to  one  thousand  miles,  and  its  population  was 
estimated  by  Garcilaso  de  Vega  at  above  ten  millions. 
According  to  a  statement  made  by  Seiior  Morales  y 
Duares,  reported  in  El  Diario  de  las  Cortes  of  the  llth 
of  January,  1811,  the  census  taken  in  1575  by  Loy- 
aisa,  assisted  by  the  Oidor  Don  Andres  Ziancas,  and 
the  Dominican  friar  Domingo  Santo  Thomas,  gave  for 
the  total,  8,225,000  souls ;  so  that  the  population  had 
already  decreased  nearly  2,000,000.  The  Guichua 
was  the  national  language  throughout  the  empire  of 
the  Incas,  and  is  to  this  day  spoken  by  a  majority  of 
the  inhabitants  of  the  republic  of  the  Excuador,  (for- 
merly the  captain-generalship  of  Quito,)  and  in  Peru, 
as  well  as  by  the  inhabitants  of  Santiago  del  Estero, 
a  midland  province  of  the  Argentine  Pampas.  This 
last  circumstance  proves  that  the  dominion  of  the 
Incas  extended  very  far  to  the  east,  as  well  as  to  the 
west,  of  the  Andes. 

These  monarchs  were  hereditary,  and  their  rule 
partook  something  of  the  patriarchal  character.  Un- 
der the  sway  of  twelve  successive  Incas,  Peru  advanced 


108  INDIANS   OF   PERU. 

rapidly  in  the  arts  of  peace  and  \var,  and  prospered  for 
upwards  of  five  hundred  years,  until  the  death  of 
Huayna  Capac  at  Quito,  in  1525,  a  few  months  after 
the  Spaniards  had  made  their  first  appearance  on  the 
coast  of  Choco. 

Thus,  as  we  are  told,  was  founded  the  empire  of  the 
Incas,  or  lords  of  Peru.  At  first  its  extent  was  small, 
the  territory  of  Maneo  Capac  not  reaching  above 
twenty-five  miles  from  Cuzco,  his  capital:  but  it  was 
gradually  extended,  rather  for  the  benign  purpose  of 
spreading  the  blessings  of  peace  and  the  arts  than  for 
conquest,  until  it  embraced  the  great  territory  we  have 
described. 

INHABITANTS. — Though  the  vast  dominion  of  the 
Incas  embraced  many  different  tribes,  and  of  course 
there  must  have  been  some  diversity  of  character 
among  them,  still  they  all  possessed  the  leading  traita 
of  the  great  American  family  :  the  copper  color,  long, 
lank,  black  hair,  a  thin  beard,  broad  Hat  nose,  and 
black  eyes  set  obliquely  in  the  head.  The  Peruvians, 
however,  were  marked  with  a  gentleness  of  character 
which  greatly  distinguished  them  from  the  Caribs  and 
Brazilians  occupying  the  eastern  coast  of  South 
America.  They  had  small  feet,  well  turned  limbs, 
and  generally  a  somewhat  less  robust  form  than  the 
Indians  of  other  tribes.  Their  institutions  and  civili- 
zation, so  remarkably  contrasted  with  those  of  Mexico, 
seemed  to  harmonize  with  their  gentle  character,  and 
to  be  a  just  reflexion  of  their  mental  and  moral  na- 
ture. They  are  supposed  to  have  belonged  to  the 
Toltec  branch  of  the  American  race,  and  it  has  been 
inferred  that  their  ancestors  came  to  this  country  from 


INDIANS    OF    PERU.  109 

the  north,  passing  west  of  the  great  chain  of  the  Cor- 
dilleras. 

DRESS. — It  would  appear  that  the  Peruvians  pos- 
sessed that  love  of  display  common  to  a  barbarous 
people.  When  Atahualpa  had  his  first  interview  with 
Pizarro,  he  appeared  before  him  with  nearly  the  same 
pomp  that  attended  Montezuma  in  his  introduction  to 
Cortes.  The  Inca  approached  the  Spaniard,  being 
preceded  by  four  hundred  men  in  a  uniform  dress. 
He  was  himself  seated  on  a  throne,  the  latter  being 
decorated  with  plumes  of  various  colors  and  covered 
with  plates  of  gold  and  silver,  sprinkled  with  precious 
stones.  Behind  him  came  some  of  the  chief  officers 
of  his  court,  carried  in  the  same  manner. 

The  dress  of  the  common  people  was  made  of  cloth 
from  various  substances,  especially  from  the  hair  of 
the  llama.  The  body  of  both  men  and  women  was 
covered  below  the  waist.  The  head  of  the  chief  peo- 
ple was  usually  ornamented  with  a  crown  of  feathers 
set  upright  in  a  circle,  and  their  persons  were  deco- 
rated with  precious  stones.  Jewels  were  often  worn 
in  the  ears  of  all  classes.  Besides  a  petticoat,  the 
women  wore  shawls,  fastened  at  the  corners  upon  the 
left  shoulder :  the  men  had  square  pieces  of  cloth, 
worn  as  cloaks. 

BUILDINGS  AND  OTHER  STRUCTURES. — The  superior 
ingenuity  of  the  Peruvians  was  obvious  in  the  con- 
struction of  their  houses  and  public  buildings.  In  the 
extensive  plains  which  stretch  along  the  Pacific  Ocean 
where  the  sky  is  perpetually  serene,  and  the  climate 
mild,  their  houses  were  very  properly  of  a  fabric 
extremely  sli<rht.  But  in  the  higher  reyionr;,  where 
v.— 10 


no 


INDIANS  OF  PERT;. 


rain  falls,  where  the  vicissitude  of  seasons  is  known 
and  their  rigor  felt,  houses  were  constructed  with 
greater  solidity.  They  were  generally  of  a  square 
form,  the  walls  about  eight  feet  high,  built  with  bricks 


hardened  in  the  sun,  without  any  windows,  and  the 
door  low  and  straight.  Simple  as  these  structures 
were,  and  rude  as  the  materials  may  seem  to  be  of 
which  they  were  formed,  they  were  so  durable  that 
many  of  them  still  subsist  in  different  parts  of  Peru. 

But  it  was  in  the  temples  consecrated  to  the  Sun  and 
in  the  buildings  destined  for  the  residence  of  their 
monarchs,  that  the  Peruvians  displayed  the  utmost 
extent  of  their  art  and  contrivance.  The  descriptions 
of  them  by  such  of  the  Spanish  writers  as  had  an 
opportunity  of  contemplating  them,  while,  in  some 
measure,  entire,  might  have  appeared  highly  exagge- 
rated, if  the  ruins  which  still  remain  did  not  vouch 


INDIANS   OF   PERU.  Ill 

ihe  truth  of  their  relations.  These  ruins  of  sacred 
or  royal  buildings  are  found  in  every  province  of  the 
empire,  and  by  their  frequency  demonstrate  that  they 
are  monuments  of  a  powerful  people,  who  must  have 
subsisted,  during  a  period  of  some  extent,  in  a  state  of 
no  inconsiderable  improvement. 

There  appear  to  have  been  edifices  various  in  their 
dimensions, — some  of  a  moderate  size,  many  of  im- 
mense extent,  all  remarkable  for  solidity,  and  resem- 
bling each  other  in  the  style  of  architecture.  The 
temple  of  Pachacamac  at  Cuzco,  together  with  the 
palace  of  the  Inca,  and  a  fortress  were  so  connected 
as  to  form  one  great  structure  above  half  a  league  in 
circuit.  In  this  prodigious  pile,  the  same  singular 
taste  in  building  is  conspicuous,  as  in  other  works  of 
the  Peruvians. 

As  they  were  unacquainted  with  the  use  of  the 
pulley  and  other  mechanical  powers,  arid  could  not 
elevate  the  large  stones  and  bricks,  which  they  em- 
ployed in  building,  to  any  considerable  height,  the 
walls  of  this  edifice,  in  which  they  seem  to  have  made 
their  greatest  effort  towards  magnificence,  did  not  rise 
above  twelve  feet  from  the  ground.  Though  they  had 
not  discovered  the  use  of  mortar,  or  any  other  cement 
in  building,  the  brick  or  stones  were  joined  with  so 
much  nicety  that  the  seams  can  hardly  be  discerned. 

The  apartments,  so  far  as  the  distribution  of  them 
can  be  traced  in  the  ruins,  were  ill  disposed,  and 
afforded  little  accommodation.  There  was  not  a  single 
window  in  any  part  of  the  building;  and  as  no  light 
could  enter  but  by  the  door,  all  the  apartments  of  large 
size  must  either  have  been  perfectly  dark,  or  illumi- 


112  INDIANS    OF    PERU. 

nated  by  some  other  means.  But  with  all  these  and 
many  other  imperfections  in  their  art  of  building,  the 
works  of  the  Peruvians  which  still  remain  must  be 
considered  as  stupendous  efforts  of  a  people  unac- 
quainted with  the  use  of  iron.  Acosta  measured  a 
stone,  in  one  of  the  buildings,  which  was  thirty  feet 
long,  eighteen  broad,  and  six  wide,  and  he  adds  that 
there  were  some  in  the  fortress  at  Cuzco  much  larger. 

UTENSILS. — The  tools  used  in  the  arts  will  be  no- 
ticed herafcfter.  Of  the  articles  of  furniture  we  have 
not  a  very  distinct  account.  They  had  mirrors  of 
hard  shining  stone,  vessels  of  earthen-ware  of  various 
forms,  hatchets  of  stone  and  copper  for  war  and  other 
purposes.  They  had  gold  and  silver  in  profusion,  and 
of  these  precious  metals,  they  not  only  made  various 
trinkets  for  personal  decoration,  but  vases  and  vessels 
for  use  or  display.  Many  of  their  works  in  these 
metals  were  worthy  of  great  praise  for  their  exquisite 
manufacture. 

TRAVELLING. — The  only  animals  domesticated  in 
Peru,  were  ducks  and  llamas ;  the  latter  appear  to  have 
been  used  only  to  carry  burthens,  and  not  to  support 
persons  on  their  backs.  The  travelling  was  there- 
fore on  foot,  there  being  no  vehicles  of  any  kind. 
When  the  Inca  met  Pizarro  at  Caxamalco.  he  was 
seated  on  a  throne,  and  carried  on  the  shoulders  of  his 
principal  attendants.  The  couriers  of  Peru  were  ac- 
customed to  bear  their  messages  with  great  rapidity, 
and  it  is  said  crossed  the  rivers  by  swimming,  with 
wonderful  celerity.  They  had  advanced  no  farther  in 
naval  skill  than  the  use  of  the  paddle  or  oar,  with  the 
occasional  employment  of  a  mast  anrl  small  sail,  upon 


INDIANS   OF   PERU.  113 

their  balsars  or  floats.  These  went  nimbly  before  the 
wind,  but  could  not  tack  with  any  great  facility.  Of 
the  roads  and  bridges,  and  the  modes  of  crossing  riv- 
ers we  have  elsewhere  given  an  account. 

FOOD  AND  DRINK. — The  Peruvians  used  various 
kinds  of  vegetable  food,  which  they  cooked  by  boiling. 
It  is  remarkable,  however,  that  they  ate  flesh  raw. 
Maize  was  a  staple  article  of  food.  In  the  earlier 
periods  of  their  history,  they  devoured  human  flesh, 
but  this  practice  ceased  from  the  time  of%tanco  Ca- 
pac.  The  public  regulations  insured  a  full  supply  of 
food,  and  even  in  times  of  greatest  scarcity,  there  was 
enough  to  prevent  suffering.  A  favorite  drink  was 
made  by  steeping  maize  flour  in  water. 

GOVERNMENT. — The  Government  established  by 
Manco  Capac,  continued  from  its  formation  to  the 
conquest,  a  space  of  about  three  centuries.  At  first, 
as  we  have  stated,  his  territories  were  confined  to  nar- 
row limits,  but  they  were  afterwards  greatly  enlarged. 
Still  his  successors  followed  implicitly  .in  his  footsteps. 
Their  authority  was  absolute,  and  they  were  not  only 
obeyed  as  monarchs,  but  reverenced  as  deities.  Their 
blood  was  held  to  be  sacred,  and  intermarriages  with 
the  people  being  prohibited,  was  never  contaminated 
by  mixing  with  that  of  any  other  race.  The  family 
thus  separated  from  the  rest  of  the  nation,  was  dis- 
tinguished by  peculiarities  in  dress  and  ornaments, 
which  it  was  unlawful  for  others  to  assume.  The 
Incas  were  regarded  not  only  as  rulers,  but  as  messen- 
gers of  heaven.  Their  injunctions  were  received  as  the 
precepts  of  a  superior,  as  the  mandates  of  the  Deity. 
To  insure  the  noble  blood  against  intermixture,  the 
H  10* 


114  INDIANS    OF   PERU. 

sons  of  Manco  Capac  married  their  own  sisters,  and 
no  person  was  ever  admitted  to  the  throne,  who  could 
not  claim  it  by  descent  from  this  indisputable  source. 
They  were  deemed  to  be  under  the  immediate  direc- 
tion of  the  Deity,  from  whom  they  issued,  and  by  him 
every  order  of  the  reigning  Inca  was  supposed  to  be 
dictated. 

Not  only  was  a  blind  submission  yielded  to  their 
sovereigns  by  the  people  at  large,  but  persons  of  the 
highest  rank  and  greatest  power  in  their  dominions, 
acknowledged  them  to  be  of  a  more  exalted  nature ; 
and  in  testimony  of  this,  when  admitted  into  their 
presence,- they  entered  with  a  burden  upon  their  shoul- 
ders as  an  emblem  of  their  servitude  and  willingness 
to  bear  whatever  the  Inca  was  pleased  to  impose. 
Among  their  subjects  force  was  not  requisite  to  second 
their  commands.  Every  officer  intrusted  with  the 
execution  of  them,  was  revered,  and  according  to  the 
account  of  an  intelligent  observer  of  Peruvian  man- 
ners, he  might  proceed  alone  from  one  extremity  of 
the  empire  to  another,  without  meeting  opposition ; 
for  on  producing  a  fringe  from  the  royal  lorla,  an  or- 
nament of  the  head  peculiar  to  the  reigning  Inca,  the 
lives  and  fortunes  of  the  people  were  at  his  disposal. 

As  a  consequence  of  these  views  of  the  divine  char- 
acter of  the  rulers,  all  crimes  were  considered  as  sins 
against  the  Deity,  and  were,  consequently,  immediately 
punished  with  death.  Among  a  corrupt  people  a  code  so 
severe  would  have  rendered  men  ferocious  and  desper- 
ate, and  tended  rather  to  multiply  than  prevent  crime. 
But  the  Peruvians,  of  simple  manners  and  unsuspi- 
cious faith,  were  held  in  such  awe  by  this  rigid  dis- 


INDIANS   OF   PERU.  116 

cipline,  that  the  number  of  offenders  was  extremely 
small.  Veneration  for  monarchs  enlightened  and  di- 
rected, as  they  believed,  by  the  divinity  whom  they 
adored,  prompted  them  to  their  duty ;  the  dread,  of 
punishment,  which  they  were  taught  to  consider  as 
unavoidable  vengeance  inflicted  by  offended  Heaven, 
withheld  them  from  evil. 

In  war,  prisoners  were  treated  with  lenity,  and  in  a 
manner  to  make  them  become  the  faithful  followers 
of  the  Children  of  the  Sun.  In  extending  their  do- 
minions, the  Incas  are  represented  as  having  sought 
only  to  impart  to  the  barbarous  people  whom  they 
reduced,  the  benefits  of  their  beneficent  institutions. 

The  laws  of  the  country  entered  minutely  into  the 
affairs  of  life,  regulated  religious  rites  and  ceremonies, 
distributed  the  lands  and  prescribed  the  mode  of  cul- 
tivation. The  state  of  property  was  not  less  singular 
than  the  religion.  All  the  lands  capable  of  cultivation, 
were  divided  into  three  shares ;  one  was  consecrated 
to  the  Sun,  and  the  product  of  it  was  applied  to  the 
erection  of  temples,  and  furnishing  what  was  requisite 
towards  celebrating  the  public  rites  of  religion.  The 
second  belonged  to  the  Inca,  and  was  set  apart  as  the 
provision  made  by  the  community  for  the  support  of 
government.  The  third  and  largest  share  was  re- 
served for  the  maintenance  of  the  people,  among 
whom  it  was  parcelled  out.  Neither  individuals, 
however,  nor  communities,  had  a  right  of  exclusive 
property  in  the  portion  set  apart  for  their  use.  They 
possessed  it  only  for  the  year,  at  the  expiration  of  which, 
a  new  division  was  made  in  proportion  to  the  rank,  the 
number  and  exigences  of  each  family.  All  these 


116  INDIANS    OF   PERU. 

lands  were  cultivated  by  the  joint  industry  of  the  com- 
munity. The  people,  summoned  by  a  proper  officer, 
repaired  in  a  body  to  the  fields  and  performed  their 
common  task,  while  songs  and  musical  instruments 
cheered  them  to  their  labor. 

The  distinction  of  ranks  was  fully  established.  A 
great  body  of  the  inhabitants,  under  the  denomination 
of  Yanaconas,  were  held  in  a  state  of  servitude. 
Their  garb  and  houses  were  of  a  form  different  from 
those  of  freemen. — Like  the  Tamenes  of  Mexico,  they 
were  employed  in  carrying  burdens  and  in  performing 
every  other  act  of  drudgery.  Next  to  them  in  rank, 
were  such  of  the  people  as  were  free,  but  distinguished 
by  no  official  or  hereditary  honors.  Above  them 
were  raised  those  whom  the  Spaniards  called  Ore- 
jones,  from  the  ornaments  worn  in  their  ears.  They 
formed  what  maybe  denominated  the  order  of  nobles, 
and  in  peace  as  well  as  war,  held  every  office  of 
power  or  trust.  At  the  head  of  all  were  the  Children 
of  the  Sun,  who  by  their  high  descent  and  peculiar 
privileges,  were  as  much  exalted  above  the  Orejones, 
as  these  were  elevated  above  the  people. 

An  early  result  of  any  conquest  performed  by  the 
Incas  was  a  census  of  their  newly  acquired  subjects. 
Having  named  governors  and  teachers  of  the  worship 
of  the  Sun,  a  provincial  return  was  made  in  quipos 
of  the  quantities  of  meadow-land,  upland,  lowland, 
arable  land,  inheritances,  mines,  salt  grounds,  foun- 
tains, lakes,  rivers,  indigenous  fruit-trees,  cattle,  &c.  &c. 
Another  return  was  ordered  for  each  district,  and  a 
third  return  of  the  property  of  each  individual.  A 
just  distribution  v<*as  then  effected,  and  the  old  proprie- 


INDIANS   OF    PERU.  117 

tors  were  assisted  with  implements,  clothing,  food,  &c. 
to  make  the  most  of  their  property  under  the  new 
arrangement.  At  the  same  time  they  were,  compelled 
clearly  to  understand  the  nature  and  extent  of  their 
public  duties.  Landmarks  were  put,  and  names  given 
to  those  places,  rivers,  woods,  hills,  llama-walks,  and 
fountains,  which  had  before  received  no  names.  To 
facilitate  intercourse  between  the  towns,  roads  were 
made.  Of  these  the  two  most  celebrated  were  the 
coast-road  and  the  mountain-road  from  Cuzco  to  Quito. 
Early  Spanish  writers  describe  them  as  exceeding  the 
seven  wonders  of  the  world.  On  spots  commanding 
extensive  views,  an  area,  reached  by  nights  of  steps 
cut  in  the  rocks,  was  cleared  as  a  resting-place  for  the 
Incas.  Several  causeways,  forming  originally  part  of 
the  mountain-road,  still  exist.  Baron  Humboldt,  speak- 
ing of  one  of  them,  compares  it  to  the  fine  roads  of 
Italy,  or  Spain. 

It  is  clear  that  the  well-being  of  the  people  was 
sought  by  the  Incas,  and  is  even  averred  that  their  con- 
quests were  undertaken  for  the  spread  of  civilization, 
which  in  reality  did  attend  their  steps.  The  heir- 
apparent,  on  arriving  at  manhood,  usually  made  the 
tour  of  the  realm.  On  his  accession,  also,  it  became 
an  early  duty  to  make  another  survey,  occupying 
sometimes  from  three  to  four  or  five  years.  During 
a  protracted  reign  the  royal  progress  was  repeated  more 
than  once.  Having  made  himself  personally  known 
in  every  section,  redressed  grievances,  ordered  public 
improvements,  promoted  industry,  sanctioned  the  na- 
tional pastimes,  and  by  his  mere  presence  diffused 
general  satisfaction,  the  monarch,  on  his  return  to  the 


118  INDIANS   OF   PERU. 

seat  of  empire,  directed  his  attention  to  some  frontier 
nation  which  he  was  desirous  of  incorporating  with  his 
dominion.  The  same  policy  was  observed  in  every 
reign,  and,  if  anything  can  justify  an  unvarying  sys- 
tem of  territorial  aggrandisement,  it  is  the  benignant 
purposes  to  which  the  Incas  applied  their  acquisitions. 

When  a  new  conquest  had  been  determined  on,  a 
competent  force  was  assembled  under  one  commander. 
On  approaching  the  scene  of  operations,  the  unsubdued 
tribe  was  invoked  by  a  solemn  embassy  to  annex  their 
territory  to  the  empire  and  to  its  worship  and  laws, 
retaining  such  of  their  own  customs  and  usages  as 
were  not  in  opposition  to  those  of  the  Incas.  To  such 
terms  the  wild  tribes  frequently  acceded  at  once ;  but 
occasionally  a  spirited  answer  was  returned  as  the 
prelude  to  hostilities.  To  the  summons  from  Capac 
Zupanqui,  brother  to  the  Inca  Pachacutec,  who  died 
in  1400,  the  chiefs  of  the  densely  peopled  country 
of  Chincha  gave  the  following  reply: — 

"  We  neither  want  to  have  the  Inca  for  a  king,  nor 
the  sun  for  a  god ;  we  already  have  a  god  whom  we 
adore,  and  a  king  whom  \ve  serve.  Our  god  is  the 
ocean,  and  everybody  may  see  that  it  is  greater  than 
the  sun ;  and  that  it  besides  yields  to  us  an  abundance 
of  food,  whereas  the  sun  does  us  no  good  whatever ; 
on  the  contrary,  he  oppresses  us  with  too  much  heat  ir. 
our  sultry  region,  and  we  have  no  occasion  for  it,  as 
they  have  who  live  amidst  cold  mountains,  where  it 
may  be  right  to  worship  him  because  he  is  useful  there. 
*  *  The  Inca  had  better  return 

homewards  without  entering  into  war  with  the  lord  and 
king  of  Chincha,  who  is  a  most  puissant  ruler." 


INDIANS   OF   PERU. 

It  very  rarely  occurred  that  the  Incas  desisted  from 
any  of  their  attempts  at  conquest.  The  only  known 
serious  check  they  ever  met  with  was  from  the  Arau- 
canians,  who  have  since  resisted,  for  300  years,  the 
firearms  of  the  Spaniards,  and  still  exist  as  an  inde- 
pendent people,  occupying  that  finest  portion  of  Chili, 
which  lies  between  the  Rio  Bio  and  Valdivia.  Find- 
ing that  untameable  race  too  proud  to  amalgamate  with 
a  more  civilized  one,  and  strong  enough  to  preserve 
the  liberty  they  loved,  the  Incas  discreetly  abstained 
from  further  attempts  to  push  their  conquests  in  that 
direction,  and  the  Maule  became  the  southern  boundary 
of  their  empire. 

The  trial  of  strength  which  led  to  this  unwonted 
forbearance  was  a  drawn  battle  fought  to  the  south  of 
the  Maule  in  the  early  part  of  the  fifteenth  century, 
between  20,000  Peruvians  and  18,000  Araucanians. 
The  combat  raged  for  three  days,  each  party  returning 
every  night  to  its  own  strong  position.  At  the  close 
of  the  third  day's  fighting  it  was  ascertained  that  about 
every  second  man  of  both  armies  had  been  killed,  and 
that  most  of  the  survivors  were  wounded.  On  the 
fourth  morning  the  remnant  of  each  force  formed  each 
within  its  fortified  position,  and  stood  there  facing  each 
other  in  sullen  defiance  till  nightfall.  The  fifth  and 
sixth  days  were  passed  in  the  same  manner ;  but  by 
the  seventh  both  belligerent  parties  had  retired,  each 
fearing  that  the  other  might  receive  a  reinforcement. 

But  the  frequent  new  accessions  of  territory  that 
were  made  were  sufficient  to  keep  the  ruling  powers 
in  activity.  Upon  the  completion  of  every  conquest 
or  peaceable  annexation,  by  the  establishment  of  th» 


120  INDIANS    OP    PERU. 

laws  and  the  religion  of  the  Incas,  all  the  land  of  the 
recent  acquisition  susceptible  of  cultivation  was  meas- 
ured and  apportioned  out  in  three  shares, — for  the 
church,  the  state,  and  the  commonalty,  as  in  the  rest  of 
the  empire.  When  such  acquisitions  lay  on  the  sultry 
coast,  water-courses  were  made  under  the  direction  of 
able  engineers ;  and  extensive  tracts  of  desert,  com- 
posed of  sand  with  a  large  admixture  of  loam,  were 
transformed  into  productive  levels,  partly  through  the 
agency  of  guano,  deposits  left  by  the  pelicans  on  cer- 
tain islands  on  the  coast  of  Peru.  If  the  newly 
conquered  district  lay  within  the  Sierra  or  mountain 
regions,  amongst  other  contrivances  "  andenes,"  or  ter- 
races faced  with  stone,  were  formed  on  mountain-slopes 
to  a  very  great  elevation.  The  lowermost  andene  was 
sometimes  a  long  slip  containing  hundreds  of  acres, 
whilst  those  above  of  about  equal  length  were  made 
narrow  in  proportion  as  they  neared  the  hill -top,  until 
the  uppermost  terrace  had,  in  some  cases,  only  just 
width  enough  for  two  or  three  rows  of  corn  throughout 
its  whole  length.  A  given  portion  of  the  manual 
labor  of  the  adult  population  being  at  the  command  of 
the  Inca  and  his  lieutenants,  it  was  thus  beneficially 
employed  in  converting  mountain-slopes  and  hitherto 
barren  lands  into  productive  districts.  So  cheerfully 
was  this  labor-tax  contributed,  that  there  was  more  fre- 
quently a  surplus  than  a  want  of  hands ;  no  skill  was 
spared  in  turning  to  account  every  available  spot,  how- 
ever small  or  however  distant,  water  being  sometimes 
conveyed  in  azequias  many  miles  in  extent  for  the  sole 
purpose  of  irrigating  a  small  lot  of  ground  encom- 
passed by  an  irreclaimable  waste. 


INDIANS    OF    PERtT.  121 

When,  in  consequence  of  an  increase  of  population, 
the  third  of  the  produce  of  the  land  destined  for  its  use 
became  insufficient  for  that  purpose,  a  portion  was 
taken  from  one  or  both  of  the  other  two  thirds  origi- 
nally set  apart  for  the  service  of  the  Inca  and  the 
worship  of  the  Sun,  or  church  and  state.  Another 
remedial  measure  was  also  resorted  to  on  such  occa- 
sions, namely,  to  send  a  portion  of  the  people  to  dis- 
tricts whose  population  had  become  diminished  by  the 
effects  of  wars  and  diseases,  or  which  had  been  pre- 
viously cultivated.  Ten  thousand  families  were  re- 
moved at  one  time  to  colonize  the  province  of  Chancas, 
which  had  lost  much  of  its  able-bodied  population  at 
the  battle  of  Yuarpampa,  and  by  the  subsequent  emi- 
gration of  large  numbers  of  the  vanquished  with  their 
chief,  Himchuala. 

The  Sun's  portion  of  the  ground  was  first  tilled : 
next  that  of  the  widow,  the  orphan,  the  aged,  and  the 
infirm ;  next  that  of  the  people  at  large ;  then  that  of 
the  nobility ;  and,  lastly,  that  of  the  Incas  and  the  royal 
family.  The  tilling  of  the  latter  portion,  as  well  as  of 
the  first,  was  attended  with  much  festivity.  The  rural 
workmen  put  on  their  best  garb ;  chorusses  chanted 
throughout  the  day  the  praises  of  the  Incas,  who  acted 
on  the  maxim,  that  unless  a  people  be  first  well  pro- 
tected, they  cannot  effectually  serve  their  king  and 
country  in  peace  or  war. 

The  earliest  constructed  agricultural  terrace  (Colle- 
amapta,  on  the  side  of  the  hill  crowned  by  a  fortress 
within  the  city  of  Cuzco,)  was  looked  upon  as  almost 
sacred  ground,  and  tilled  only  by  Incarial  hands.  The 
princes  delved  in  parties  of  seven  or  eight,  or  turned 
v.— 11 


122  INDIANS   OP   PERU. 

up  the  soil  with  a  sort  of  hand-plough,  whilst  attendant 
princesses,  with  golden-toothed  rakes,  brought  weeds 
to  the  surface  for  exposure  to  the  atmosphere.  These 
field  operations  were  done  to  vocal  music,  and  a  chant 
called  "  Haylii " — tillage  mastering  the  earth — re- 
sounded in  cheerful  strains,  so  that  the  whole  affair 
was  an  exhilarating  gala  in  honor  of  husbandry. 

It  is  impossible  within  the  limits  of  this  article  to 
give  a  complete  account  of  the  system  of  government 
adopted  by  the  Incas.  What  we  have  already  said 
will  suffice  to  show  that  it  attempted  to  unite  the 
utmost  possible  amount  of  power  in  the  monarch  with 
the  greatest  degree  of  happiness  in  the  subject.  This 
is  not  the  place  to  discuss  the  question,  to  \vhat  extent 
the  attempt  was  successful.  But  it  may  be  interesting 
to  see  in  what  manner  the  Spaniards  acted  when  they 
made  their  appearance  and  landed  at  Tumbez. 

By  a  singular  fatality,  when  this  occurred,  the  schism 
between  Atahualpa  and  Huascar  was  in  full  operation. 
Huayna  Capac,  the  Peruvian  monarch,  when  crown 
prince,  and  before  he  was  twenty  years  old,  had  been 
placed  at  the  head  of  a  force  by  his  father  Tupac 
Zupanqui,  who  died  1475,  to  invade  and  subjugate 
Quito.  Having  made  a  victorious  progress,  as  heredi- 
tary prince,  Huayna  Capac  completed  the  conquest  of 
that  extensive  region  in  the  early  part  of  his  reign, 
and  added  the  heiress  to  the  throne  of  Quito  to  the 
number  of  his  wives.  By  her  he  had  Atahualpa,  who, 
of  all  Huayna  Capac's  sons,  was  the  best-beloved  and 
most  frequently  by  the  side  of  his  father.  Like  most 
of  the  Incarial  family,  Atahualpa  was,  for  a  copper- 
skin,  preeminently  handsome.  He  was  brave,  active, 


INDIANS   OF   PERU.  123 

and  warlike ;  his  manners  were  elegant  and  his  per- 
ception remarkably  quick  and  clear.  Huayna  Capac, 
some  years  before  his  own  death,  had  settled  that  this 
Atahualpa  should  inherit  the  maternal  diadem,  whilst 
the  other,  and  by  far  the  most  extensive  portion  of  the 
empire,  was  assigned  to  Huascar,  an  older  son  by  Rava 
Oello,  a  sister-wife.  For  this  division  of  the  Incarial 
inheritance  there  was  no  precedent ;  and  it  was  so 
directly  in  opposition  to  the  national  prejudices,  the 
arrangement  gave  rise  to  forebodings  and  more  dissat- 
isfaction than  could  be  expected  from  a  people  cradled 
and  trained  in  habits  of  passive  obedience  to  monarchs 
of  reputed  divine  origin. 

The  two  princes,  nevertheless,  affected  on  their 
accession  a  cheerful  submission  to  the  will  of  their 
departed  parent,  and,  for  some  time  after  his  decease, 
professed  to  entertain  for  each  other  an  unbounded 
fraternal  esteem.  But  in  1529,  four  years  after  Hu- 
ayna Capac's  death,  the  head  cacique,  or  governor  of 
Canar,  the  southernmost  province  of  Quito,  raising  the 
standard  of  revolt  against  Atahualpa,  sought  and 
obtained  the  protection  of  Huascar.  Then  a  fratri- 
cidal war  ensued,  and  many  severe  battles  were  fought 
with  varied  success  until  the  decisive  one  in  1532.  in 
which  Huascar  was  made  a  prisoner.  Upon  this 
Atahualpa,  having  confined  his  brother  in  the  fortress 
of  Xanxa,  caused  himself  to  be  proclaimed  sole  Inca  at 
Cuzco.  It  was  at  this  juncture  that  Pizarro.  who  had 
visited  the  coast  seven  years  before,  reappeared  in  force, 
and  established  himself  at  Tumbez. 

The  crafty  invader  soon  became  acquainted  with  the 
true  state  of  the  country,  and  found  means  to  comma- 


124  INDIANS   OF    PERU. 

nicate  with  the  imprisoned  Huascar.  One  of  the  first 
results  of  the  discovery  of  this  correspondence  was 
the  execution  of  the  imprisoned  Inca  by  order  of 
Atahualpa,  who  himself,  not  long  after,  was  put  to 
death  at  Caxamarca  by  Pizarro.  To  conclude  this 
chain  of  crimes,  the  conqueror  himself,  within  a  few 
years,  was  stabbed  by  an  assassin. 

The  Spaniards,  reinforced  by  repeated  accessions 
from  Panama,  soon  spread  over  the  country.  The 
invaders,  mounted  on  animals,  until  then  unknown  to 
the  Indians,  were  regarded  as  supernatural  beings, 
carrying  engines  of  thunder,  lightning,  and  death  in 
their  hands.  The  fratricidal  war  had  engendered  fac- 
tions, and,  under  the  guidance  of  some  of  these,  the 
common  enemy  was  enabled  to  traverse  immense 
tracts  of  country  with  ease. 

A  vast  field  of  plunder  attracted  other  warlike  ad- 
venturers, and  the  empire  of  the  Incas  was  speedilv 
overthrown.  The  conquerors,  surfeited  with  spoil 
and  power,  began  to  quarrel  among  themselves,  and 
to  kill  one  another  in  the  field  of  battle  or  on  the 
scaffold;  so  that,  of  all  the  first  party  that  arrived,  only 
four  or  five  individuals  died  a  natural  death.  Mean- 
while, how  much  soever  the  Spaniards  might  destroy 
each  other,  it  was  the  policy  and  practice  of  the  ruling 
powers  to  turn  to  account  the  inflamed  passions  of  the 
aborigines.  The  Spaniards,  accordingly,  fomented 
mutual  jealousies  among  them,  countenanced  or  as- 
sisted the  weakest  party,  and  encouraged  rivals  to  come 
to  blows. 

Of  these  petty  chiefs  some  were  gained  over  to 
assist  in  subjugating  others,  for  the  bond  of  unity  was 


INDIANS    OF   PERT/.  125 

gone ;  and  many  of  the  caciques,  having  beheld  the 
subversion  of  the  venerated  monarchy,  aspired  to,  or 
re-assumed  the  independent  rule  which  their  ancestors 
had  exercised  previous  to  the  amalgamation  of  their 
respective  tribes  or  nations  with  the  empire.  But 
these  did  not  long  enjoy  local  sway ;  for  the  Spaniards 
took  especial  care  to  sow  the  seeds  of  fresh  dissensions, 
or  to  fan  the  embers  of  discord  into  flames,  until  they 
succeeded  in  despoiling  both  parties  of  authority,  in 
sequestrating  the  property  of  most  of  the  caciques,  and 
in  disposing  of  the  salable  part  of  it  by  auction  for 
the  benefit,  as  it  was  pretended,  of  the  crown.  This 
was  the  origin  of  the  estates  now  known  by  the  name 
of  tierras  compuestas — composition  lands. 

Such  of  the  Spanish  commanders  as  reduced  others 
of  the  caciques,  received  the  forfeited  estate,  or  a  part 
of  it,  as  their  share  of  booty.  This  sort  of  acquisition 
was  called  encomienda,  or  repartimento ;  and  the 
yanaconas,  or  serfs,  were  transferred  with  the  land  to 
the  new  owner.  A  great  many  act  as,  or  original 
grants  of  these  encomiendas,  with  the  signatures  of 
Pizarro,  Valverde,  Caravajal,  and  others  of  the  Span- 
ish conquerors,  still  exist  in  the  archives  of  Cuzco. 

When  any  of  the  caciques  cooperated  with  the  Span- 
iards in  the  conquest  of  a  district,  the  possessions  of 
the  vanquished,  or  a  part  of  them,  became  the  guerdon 
of  such  traitorous  alliance.  The  representatives  of 
some  of  these  assistant  conquerors  preserved,  to  the 
last  hour  of  Spanish  domination,  a  shadow  of  power 
over  a  few  scattered  townships;  together  with  the 
style  and  title  of  "  Most  noble  and  faithful  Vassals  of 
his  Catholic  Majesty."  They  were  also  called  "  Ca- 
ciques of  the  Blood."  11* 


126  INDIANS   OF    PERU. 

Next  to  the  caciques,  in  a  descending  scale,  were 
the  commanders  of  a  hundred  tens,  or  ten  tens,  and 
of  tens ;  but  they  were  not  eligible  to  the  cacical  office 
unless  they  possessed  lands.  They  were,  also,  de- 
prived of  the  personal  servitude  of  their  yanaconas, 
who  were  forced  to  labor  on  the  estates  of  Spaniards, 
or  on  those  of  a  few  caciques  of  the  blood. 

It  being  impracticable  for  European  adventurers,  or 
settlers,  to  cultivate  all  the  domains  of  the  despoiled 
caciques,  the  unappropriated  tracts  of  country  were 
decreed  to  be  waste  lands.  Part  of  them  became  com- 
mons, or  altogether  unproductive,  and  part  was  sold, 
and  was  termed  composition  de  tierras  depobladas. 
Aboriginal  purchasers  of  this  species  of  property,  how- 
ever, had  to  submit  to  a  much  heavier  taxation,  called 
"  Tasa  de  especia"  than  that  imposed  on  European 
purchasers,  or  that  imposed  on  the  yanaconas,  or  serfs, 
who  paid,  by  the  hands  of  the  landowner,  a  capitation- 
tax  to  the  Spaniards. 

Besides  the  tasa  de  especia,  a  further  tax  was  levied 
on  the  agricultural  products  of  aboriginal  holders; 
so  that,  although  the  caciques  were  nominally  ex- 
empted from  the  alcabala,  or  excise,  a  yet  higher  duty 
was  raised  from  them  under  fiscal  contrivance.  Thus 
commenced  a  system  of  impoverishing  extortion, 
which,  in  conjunction  with  more  undisguised  plunder, 
has  changed  an  opulent  nation  into  a  poor,  thinly 
peopled  country,  and  turned  a  thrifty  race  into  a  set 
of  abject  slaves. 

The  "  confession,"  or  preamble  to  the  last  will  and 
testament  of  Mancio  Serra  Lejesama,  the  longest  sur- 
vivor of  the  Spanish  conquerors,  is  an  authentic  docu- 


INDIANS    OF   PERU. 


127 


ment,  which  proves,  heyond  all  question,  the  mora. 
and  orderly  state  of  society  in  Peru  up  to  the  time  of 
the  conquest,  and  shows,  at  the  same  time,  how  that 
happy  state  was  changed,  in  less  than  half  a  century, 
by  the  invaders.  A  translated  extract  from  this  inter- 
esting document,  which  is  extant  in  the  archives  of 
Cuzco,  will  be  found  to  corroborate  incidentally  much 
that  has  been  stated,  on  the  authority  of  Garcilaso  de 
la  Vega,  touching  the  wise  laws  of  the  Incas. 

Mancio  Serra  Lajesama  was  the  individual  to  whom 
the  celebrated  golden  sun,  covering  the  head  wall  of 
the  temple,  was  allotted;  but  he,  being  addicted  to 
gambling,  lost  the  golden  prize  in  one  night.  He  was, 
however,  gifted  with  many  redeeming  qualities,  and, 
on  being  chosen  alcalde  ordinario  of  Cuzco,  resolved 
to  abstain  from  play,  and  being,  for  this  reason,  re- 
chosen  from  year  to  year,  he  ever  after  adhered  to  his 
resolution. 

The  following  is  translated  from  his  will,  deposited 
in  the  archives  of  Cuzco,  and  extracted  by  the  Friar 
Antonio  Calancha,  of  the  Augustine  hermits,  in  the 
chronicles  of  his  monastery,  lib.  i.  cap.  15.  fol.  98. 

"  The  veritable  confession  and  declaration,  in  arti- 
culo  mortis,  made  by  the  last  survivor  of  the  very  first 
body  of  the  conquerors  of  Peru,  named  Mancio  Serra 
Lejesama,  prefixed  to  his  last  will  and  testament, 
signed  by  the  testator  at  Cuzco,  on  the  15th  of  Sep- 
tember, 1589,  in  the  presence  of  Jetonimo  Sanchez  de 
Quesada,  public  notary. 

•K*  -75*  •??•  TP  •W"  *lP  "9P 

"  Imprimis.  Before  entering  upon  my  testamentary 
disposition?,  I  solemnly  declare  that  I  have  for  many 


129  INDIANS   OF   PERU. 

years  anxiously  wished  to  make  what  I  have  to  say 
known  to  the  Catholic  Majesty  of  Don  Philip,  our 
sovereign  lord,  seeing  how  orthodox,  and  Christian- 
like,  and  zealous  in  the  service  of  our  Lord  God,  he 
is ;  for  the  sake  of  soothing  my  conscience,  which  has 
been  sorely  troubled  by  the  recollections  of  the  busy 
share  I  had  in  the  discovery,  conquest,  and  settlement 
of  these  realms ;  when  we  dispossessed  the  Incas,  who 
reigned  over  them  as  their  lawful  heritage,  but  which 
we  transferred  to  the  royal  crown. 

"  Be  it  known,  then,  to  his  Catholic  Majesty,  that 
the  afore-mentioned  Incas  caused  these  realms  to  be 
so  governed,  that  there  was  not  in  all  the  land  either 
a  thief,  a  criminal,  an  adulteress,  or  a  woman  of  bad 
character ; 

"  That  such  as  led  a  wrong  life  were  not  tolerated ; 

"  That  forests,  mines,  commonage,  hunting-grounds, 
timber,  and  all  sorts  of  profitable  things,  were  appor- 
tioned tind  regulated  in  such  a  way,  that  each  indi- 
vidual knew  and  held  his  separate  share,  free  from 
encroachments,  trespassing  or  strife ; 

"  That  the  business  of  wars,  of  which  there  were 
many,  proved  no  hinderance  to  the  orderly  course  of 
traffic,  or  tillage,  or  to  any  other  branch  of  industry ; 

"  That  in  every  class,  from  the  highest  to  the  hum- 
blest, each  individual  knew  and  kept  his  own  proper 
station,  which  was  defined  with  the  utmost  precision ; 

"  That  the  Incas  were  obeyed  and  venerated  as  a 
race  preeminently  qualified  to  govern; 

"  That  corresponding  fitness  for  office  distinguished 
the  appointed  governors  and  captains ; 

"  That  as  we  found,  under  these  circumstances,  a 


INDIANS    OF    PEKIT.  129 

groat  strength,  unity,  and  resistance  to  overcome, 
before  we  could  subdue  and  devote  these  people  to  the 
service  of  our  Lord  God,  and  take  from  them  their  ter- 
ritory to  annex  it  to  the  royal  crown,  it  behoved  us  to 
deprive  them  of  all  power,  command,  and  property, 
which  we  accomplished  by  force  of  arms  ; 

"  That,  by  the  help  of  our  Lord  God,  we  were  able 
to  subjugate  this  kingdom,  containing  a  multitudinous 
population,  immense  wealth,  and  that  powerful  aristoc- 
racy, whom  we  transformed  into  the  subdued  serfs 
they  are  now ; 

"  And,  considering  myself  to  have  been  an  accom- 
plice and  partaker  in  the  general  guilt  of  bringing  about 
these  changes,  I,  to  disburden  my  conscience,  do  hereby 
make  mis  statement  for  the  information  of  hh  majesty. 
We  have,  by  our  example,  contaminated  a  highly 
moral  people,  unused  to  the  perpetration  of  crimes 
and  excesses,  men  as  well  as  women.  Before  our 
arrival,  the  noble,  possessing  a  hundred  thousand  dol- 
lars' worth  of  property  beneath  his  roof,  was  accus- 
tomed, as  well  as  everybody  else,  to  place,  on  leaving 
his  habitation,  as  a  sign  that  nobody  was  at  home,  a 
brush,  or  rod  across  the  door-way ;  which  token  of 
absence  was  amply  sufficient  to  prevent  any  person 
whatever  from  stepping  over  the  threshold,  or  from 
taking  anything  from  the  premises.  Accordingly, 
whenever  these  people  saw  us  putting  up  doors,  and 
locking  them,  they  fancied  that  the  strange  precaution 
originated  in  our  fears  of  them,  and  that  we  were 
guarding  ourselves  against  being  murdered ;  for  it 
never  entered  their  imagination  that  it  was  to  pre- 
vent one  man  from  stealing  the  property  of  another. 
I 


130  INDIANS    OF    PERU. 

Then,  when  they  discovered  that  there  were  thieve? 
amongst  ourselves,  as  well  a.s  men  who  incited  wives 
and  daughters  to  go  astray,  they  held  us  cheap.  To 
such  a  .pitch  of  dissoluteness,  offensive  to  God,  has  our 
evil  example,  in  every  respect,  carried  the  Indians, 
that  they,  who  formerly  did  nothing  wrong,  now  seldom 
do  anything  right.  Hence,  coercive  remedies  have 
become  indispensable.  The  appliance  of  proper  re- 
straints appertains  to  his  majesty  for  the  solace  of  his 
royal  conscience,  and  I  apprize  him  of  the  necessity, 
which  is  all  that  belongs  to  me  to  do. 

"  Having  performed  this  duty,  I  beseech  God  to  for- 
give my  sins;  for  I  have  been  moved  to  declare  this 
much,  because,  of  all  the  discoverers  and  first  conquer- 
ors, I  am  the  very  last  to  die,  since  it  is  well  known 
that  not  one  of  them,  except  myself,  is  left  alive, 
either  within  or  without  this  kingdom ;  and,  accord- 
ingly, I  hereby  do  all  that  remains  in  my  power  to  dis- 
burden my  conscience." 

That  the  tales  of  the  vaunted  riches  of  ancient  Peru 
were  by  no  means  without  a  good  foundation,  a  single 
proof  will  be  given  on  the  undeniable  evidence  of  an 
official  document,  extant  in  the  archives  of  Cuzco, 
which  was  copied  in  1835,  by  order  of  Gen.  Miller, 
who  happened  then  to  be  in  command  at  that  place. 

It  appears  that  in  1525,  a  year  or  two  after  Pizarro 
first  entered  Cuzco,  he  went  to  Xanxa,  and  during  his 
absence,  forty  of  his  influential  companions  in  arms,, 
whom  he  had  left  behind,  commenced  a  general  ran- 
sack for  the  gold  and  silver  that  still  remained  in  pos- 
session of,  or  was  concealed  by,  the  aboriginal  nobility, 
or  \vealthy  classes  in  that  place,  under  the  pretext  tha 


INDIANS    OF    PERIT.  131 

a  conspiracy  was  on  foot.  In  the  course  of  this  ope- 
ration, the  Spaniards  encountered  an  unwonted  resist- 
ance, which  gradually  increased,  until  the  Peruvians 
became,  in  turn,  the  assailants ;  whereupon  the  ma- 
rauders shut  themselves  up,  with  the  booty  already 
collected,  in  the  fortress  within  the  city.  Here  they 
were  sorely  pressed  by  numbers,  and  on  the  point  of 
succumbing,  when,  according  to  legendary  records, 
they  were  saved  by  "  Our  Lady  of  Belim,"  who  de- 
scended in  a  cloud ;  and  hence  the  popularity  of  her 
image  down  to  the  present  day.  The  more  probable 
version  of  the  "  miracle "  is,  that  a  detachment  of 
Spaniards  approached  in  a  cloud  of  dust  to  the  rescue 
of  their  beleaguered  comrades.  Be  this  as  it  may, 
the  "  forty"  resumed  and  completed  the  general  pil- 
lage ;  but,  to  counteract  the  unfavorable  impression 
which  the  absent  Pizarro's  report  of  the  transaction 
might  produce  on  the  court  of  Madrid,  the  plunderers 
drew  up  and  signed  an  acta,  presenting  Charles  V. 
with  300,000  gold  pesos,  and  300,000  silver  marks, 
worth  all  toge'her,  perhaps,  two  millions  and  a  half  of 
dollars  in  thi  money  of  that  day — a  douceur  worthy 
of  a  crowned  head.  How  much  each  of  the  "  forty  " 
received  of  the  residue,  or  how  much  Pizarro's  propi- 
tiatory share  amounted  to,  is  not  known ;  neither  can 
it  ever  be  fully  explained  how  the  widely  spread 
wealth  of  a  proverbially  rich  country  was  absorbed  by 
an  inventive  tyranny,  which  neither  slumbered  nor  re- 
laxed in  the  course  of  the  ensuing  three  hundred 
years. 

RELIGION. — The  Peruvian  religion  was  an  idolatry 
consisting  chiefly  in  its  external  observance  ">f  vhe 


j.32  INDIANS    OF    PEIUT. 

worship  of  the  Sun,  as  the  visible  agent  of  Pachaca- 
mac,  ihe  "  soul  or  upholder  of  'the  universe."  Txo 
sacrifice  was  ever  offered,  no  worship  paid  to  this  un- 
known First  Cause ;  but  he  was,  nevertheless,  the 
object  of  internal  adoration,  and  the  name  of  Pacha- 
camac  was  never  pronounced  without  being  accom- 
panied by  signs  of  profound  veneration.  The  Sun 
engrossed  the  adoration  of  the  Peruvians,  though  the 
Moon  was  revered  as  his  wife  ;  and  the  Pleiades,  with 
the  other  stars,  acquired  a  kind  of  derivative  honor, 
by  being  considered  as  her  handmaidens  and  servants. 
The  planet  Venus  was  regarded  as  the  page  in  wait- 
ing on  the  Sun  ;  thunder  and  lightning  were  his  min- 
isters. The  rainbow,  believed  to  be  an  emanation 
from  the  sun,  was  adopted  as  the  armorial  bearing  by 
the  Incas,  and,  as  well  as  each  of  the  heavenly  bodies 
we  have  mentioned,  had  chambers  respectively  allotted 
to  them,  in  the  temples. 

The  temples  erected  to  the  Sun  were  numerous,  and 
their  service  was  maintained  with  great  pomp  and 
ceremony.  The  sacrifices  instituted  in  honor  of  the 
Sun,  consisted  chiefly  of  animals,  fowls  and  corn,  and 
they  even  burnt  their  finest  cloths  on  the  altar,  by 
way  of  incense.  They  had  also  drink  offerings  made 
of  maize,  or  Indian  corn,  steeped  in  water.  Nor  were 
those  oblations  the  only  acts  of  adoration  in  general 
use  among  them.  When  they  first  drank  after  their 
meals,  they  dipped  the  tip  of  their  finger  into  the  cup, 
and  lifting  up  their  eyes  with  great  devotion,  gave 
the  Sun  thanks  for  their  liquor  before  they  presumed 
to  take  a  draught  of  it. 

Beside  the  worship  of  the  Sun  they  paid  some  kind 


INDIANS    OF    PERU. 


133 


of  veneration  to  the  figures  of  several  animals  and 
vegetables  that  had  a  place  in  their  temples.  These 
were  generally  the  images  brought  from  the  conquered 
nations,  where  J,he  people  worshipped  all  sorts  of 
creatures,  animate  or  inanimate,  it  being  the  custom 
when  a  province  was  subdued,  to  remove  all  their 
idols  to  the  temple  of  the  Sun  at  Cuzco. 


Temple  of  the  Sun. 

Exclusive  of  the  solemnities  at  every  full  moon, 
four  grand  festivals  were  celebrated  annually.  The 
first  of  those,  called  Raznic,  was  held  in  the  month  of 
June,  immediately  after  the  summer  solstice,  and  was 
kept  not  only  in  honor  of  the  Sun,  but  of  their  first 
v.-12 


134  INDIANS    OF    PERU. 

Inca,  Manco  Capac,  and  Mama  Odh,  his  wife  and 
sister,  whom  the  Incas  considered  as  their  first  parents, 
descended  immediately  from  the  Sun,  and  sent  by  him 
into  the  world  to  reform  and  polish  mankind.  At  this 
festival  all  the  viceroys,  generals,  governors  and  nobil- 
ity, were  assembled  at  the  capital  city  of  Cuzco ;  and 
the  emperor,  or  Inca,  officiated  in  person  as  high  priest, 
though  on  other  occasions  the  sacerdotal  function  was 
discharged  by  the  regular  pontiff,  wrho  was,  usually, 
either  the  uncle  or  brother  of  the  Inca. 

The  morning  of  the  festival  being  come,  the  Inca, 
accompanied  by  his  near  relations,  drawn  up  in  order 
according  to  their  seniority,  went  barefoot  in  proces- 
sion at  break  of  day  to  the  market-place,  where  they 
remained  looking  attentively  towards  the  east  in  ex- 
pectation of  the  rising  sun.  The  luminary  no  sooner 
appeared,  than  they  fell  prostrate  on  their  faces  in  the 
most  profound  veneration,  and  universally  acknowl- 
edged him  to  be  their  god  and  father. 

The  vassal  princes,  and  nobility  that  were  not  of  the 
royal  blood,  assembled  in  another  square,  and  performed 
the  like  ceremony.  Out  of  a  large  flock  of  sheep 
the  priests  then  chose  a  black  lamb,  which  they  offered 
in  sacrifice,  first  turning  its  head  towards  the  east. 
From  the  entrails  of  the  victim,  on  this  occasion,  they 
drew  prognostics  relating  to  peace  and  war  and  other 
public  events. 

That  the  Peruvians  believed  in  the  immortality  of 
the  soul,  appears  from  the  practice  of  the  Incas,  who 
constantly  taught  the  people,  that  on  leaving  this  world 
they  should  enter  into  a  state  of  happiness  provided 
for  them  by  their  god  and  father,  the  Sun. 


INDIANS    OF   PERU.  135 

It  appears  that  the  Peruvians  had  a  marriage  cere- 
mony, and  the  marriage  obligation  was  faithfully 
observed. 

Notwithstanding  the  mild  character  of  the  Peruvian 
laws  and  religion,  there  was  one  custom  that  marked 
a  barbarous  state  of  society.  On  the  death  of  the  Inca, 
or  any  great  chief,  a  number  of  his  vassals,  in  one 
instance  amounting  to  a  thousand,  were  interred  with 
him,  so  that  he  might  be  served  with  proper  dignity 
in  the  other  world.  There  were,  also,  deposited  a 
portion  of  his  wealth,  and  many  precious  and  useful 
articles  destined  for  his  use.  The  opening  of  these 
hicacas,  or  tombs,  has  often  proved  a  great  prize  to 
European  adventurers ;  and  in  one  instance,  there  was 
found  a  treasure  of  gold  amounting  to  no  less  than 
700,000  dollars. 

The  Peruvians  indicated  their  belief  in  the  immor- 
tality of  the  soul,  not  only  by  their  burials,  but  by  cata- 
combs secured  by  enduring  structures  of  stone.  In  the 
province  of  Chapapogas,  are  still  to  be  found  conical 
mausolea,  which,  as  well  on  account  of  the  solidity  of  the 
materials,  as  the  inaccessible  sites  on  which  they  are 
erected,  display  great  skill  in  architecture  and  ambition 
for  immortality.  That  they  were  extremely  solicitous 
on  this  latter  point,  is  attested  by  the  multitude  of" 
mummies,  which  after  a  lapse  of  so  many  years  are 
to  be  found  in  great  numbers  in  catacombs  throughout 
the  country.  It  appears  that  they  had  the  art  of  em- 
balming, and  a  specimen  of  their  mummies,  greatly 
resembling  those  of  Egypt,  may  be  seen  in  the  Mu- 
seum at  Salem. 

WAR. — The  character  of  the  Peruvians,  however  it 


136  INDIANS   OF   PERU. 

might  have  once  been  otherwise,  was  averse  to  war 
in  the  time  of  Pizarro.  For  this  reason,  their  coun- 
try fell  almost  at  once,  before  a  handful  of  invaders. 
Y"et,  when  roused  by  the  death  of  the  Incas,  and  the 
atrocities  of  the  Spaniards,  they  defended  Cuzco  with 
vigor,  and  displayed  a  capacity  for  military  tactics, 
superior  to  that  of  the  Mexicans.  They  observed 
the  advantages  obtained  by  the  Spaniards  by  their 
discipline,  and  endeavored  to  imitate  it.  They  armed 
a  body  of  their  bravest  warriors,  with  swords,  spears, 
and  bucklers  taken  from  the  enemy,  and  endeavored 
to  marshal  them  in  compact  and  regular  order.  Some 
appeared  in  the  field  with  muskets  which  they  had 
taken,  and  a  few  of  them  ventured  to  mount  the  cap- 
tured horses.  In  order  to  obstruct  the  march  of  cav- 
alry, they  threw  among  them  ropes,  with  stones  at 
each  end,  which  wound  around  the  legs  of  the  horses, 
and  embarrassed  their  progress. 

SCIENCE  AND  ARTS. — Before  the  arrival  of  the  Span- 
iards in  America,  the  Peruvians  were  acquainted  with 
some  points  of  astronomy.  They  had  observed  the 
various  motions  of  the  planet  Venus,  and  the  different 
phases  of  the  moon.  The  common  people  divided  the 
year  only  by  the  seasons  ;  but  the  Incas  who  had  dis- 
covered the  annual  revolution  of  the  sun,  marked  out 
the  summer  and  winter  solstices  by  high  towers,  which 
they  erected  on  the  east  and  west  of  the  city  of  Cuzco. 
When  the  sun  came  to  rise  immediately  opposite  to  four 
of  those  towers  on  the  east  side  of  the  city,  and  to  set 
against  those  on  the  west,  it  was  then  the  summer  sol- 
stice; and  in  like  manner,  when  it  rose  and  set  against 
the  other  towers,  it  was  the  winter  solstice.  They  had 


INDIANS   OF   PERU.  137 

also  erected  marble  pillars  in  the  great  court  before  the 
temple  of  the  Sun,  by  which  they  observed  the  equi- 
noxes. This  observation  was  made  under  the  equator, 
when  the  sun  being  directly  vertical,  the  pillars  cast  no 
shade.  At  these  times  they  crowned  the  pillars  with 
garlands  of  flowers  and  odoriferous  herbs,  and  holding 
festivals,  offered  to  the  adored  luminary  rich  presents 
of  gold,  and  precious  stones. 

They  distinguished  the  months  by  the  moon,  and  the 
weeks  were  called  quarters  of  the  moon  ;  but  the  days 
of  the  week,  they  marked  only  by  the  ordinal  numbers, 
as  first,  second,  &c.  They  were  astonished  at  the 
eclipses  of  the  sun  and  moon.  When  the  former  hid 
his  face,  they  concluded  it  was  on  account  of  their  sins, 
imagining  that  this  phenomenon  portended  famine, 
war,  pestilence,  or  some  other  terrible  calamity.  In 
a  similar  state  of  the  moon,  they  apprehended  that  she 
was  sick,  and  when  totally  obscured,  that  she  was  dy- 
ing. At  this  alarming  crisis,  they  sounded  their 
trumpets,  and  endeavored  by  every  kind  of  noise  to 
arouse  the  lunar  planet  from  her  supposed  lethargy ; 
teaching  their  children  to  cry  out,  and  call  upon  Mama 
Quilla,  or  "  Mother  Moon,"  not  to  die  and  leave  them 
to  perish. 

They  made  no  predictions  from  any  of  the  stars,  but 
considered  dreams,  and  the  entrails  of  beasts  which 
they  offered  in  sacrifice  as  instructive  objects  of  divina- 
tion. When  they  saw  the  sun  set,  they  imagined 
that  he  plunged  into  the  ocean  to  appear  next  morning 
in  the  east. 

Among  a  people  devoid  of  letters,  the  speculative, 
essays  of  the  understanding  must  have  been  very  rude 

12* 


138  INDIANS   OF   PERU. 

and  imperfect.  They  had,  however,  amenlas,  or  phi- 
losophers, who  delivered  moral  precepts,  and  likewise 
cultivated  poetry.  Comedies  and  tragedies  composed 
by  these  bards,  were  acted  on  their  festivals,  before 
the  king  and  the  royal  family,  the  performers  being 
the  great  men  of  the  court,  and  the  principal  officers 
of  the  army.  The  amentas  also  composed  songs  and 
ballads,  but  if  we  may  judge  from  the  rudeness  of  the 
music,  with  which  they  are  said  to  have  been  accom- 
panied, they  were  far  from  being  agreeable  to  the  pol- 
ished ear. 

That  the  Peruvians  were  not  unacquainted  with 
the  arts  of  painting  and  statuary,  appears  from  the 
furniture  and  ornaments  of  their  temples  and  palaces ; 
but  in  all  the  implements  of  mechanic  arts,  they  were 
extremely  deficient.  Though  many  goldsmiths  were 
constantly  employed,  they  had  never  invented  an 
anvil  of  any  metal,  but  in  its  stead  made  use  of  a  hard 
stone.  They  beat  their  plate  with  round  pieces  of 
copper,  in  place  of  hammers,  neither  had  they  any  tiles, 
or  graving  tools.  Instead  of  bellows  for  melting  their 
metals,  they  used  copper  pipes  of  a  yard  long,  almost 
of  the  form  of  a  trumpet.  Having  no  tongs  to  take 
their  heated  metal  out  of  the  fire,  they  made  use  of  a 
stick,  or  copper  bat.  Their  carpenters  had  no  other 
tools  than  hatchets,  made  of  copper,  or  flint ;  nor  had 
they  learned  the  use  of  iron,  though  the  country 
afforded  mines  of  that  metal.  Instead  of  nails,  they 
fastened  their  timbers  with  cords,  or  the  tough  twigs 
of  trees.  A  thorn,  or  a  small  bone  served  them  for  a 
needle ;  and  instead  of  thread,  they  used  the  sinews 
of  animate  or  the  fibres  of  some  plant.  Their  knives 
made  of  fiint  or 


INDIANS   OF   PERU.  139 

They  had  no  idea  of  mortising  their  wood  work 
together,  nor  could  they  give  any  great  degree  of  sta- 
bility or  perfection  to  their  structures  of  timber. 
Their  works  in  stone,  display  amazing  perseverance, 
and  astonishing  power,  for  some  of  the  masses  found  in 
their  structures,  are  30  feet  long,  18  wide,  and  6  thick. 
But  the  several  pieces  were  not  reduced  to  any  uni- 
form length,  shape,  or  size.  They  were  joined  as  they 
came  from  the  quarries,  or  fell  from  the  mountains, — 
some  being  square,  some  triangular,  &c.  They  were 
united  by  making  a  hollow  in  one,  which  was  matched 
by  a  corresponding  projection  in  the  other.  This  opera- 
tion was  performed  with  such  nicety,  that  at  the  present 
day,  in  the  ancient  structures  at  Cuzco,  it  is  impossible 
to  insert  a  knife-blade  into  the  joints. 

In  the  construction  of  roads  they  displayed  great 
skill  and  perseverence.  Two  public  works  of  this  kind, 
extended  from  Cuzco  to  Quito,  a  distance  of  nearly 
1500  miles.  One  led  through  the  interior,  over  moun- 
tains and  valleys,  and  the  other,  across  the  plains  along 
the  coast.  They  were  fifteen  feet  wide,  and  as  no  vehi- 
cles nor  quadrupeds,  other  than  the  llama,  were  in  use, 
they  were  in  many  parts  slightly  formed.  But  in  the 
mountainous  regions,  elevations  were  levelled,  and 
hollows  filled  up,  and  such  was  the  firmness  of  the 
work,  that  portions  remain  entire  to  this  day.  At 
proper  distances  stone  houses  were  erected  for  the  ac- 
commodation of  the  Inca  and  his  attendants,  in  his 
journeys  through  the  country. 

The  Peruvians  were  unacquainted  with  the  arch, 
and  therefore  they  had  no  bridges  resembling  those 
of  the  present  day.  But  they  made  cables  of  withs 


140  INDIANS    OF    1'EKTJ. 

and  the  fibres  of  the  aloe,  and  stretching  six  of  these 
across  a  stream,  they  wove  the  whole  compactly  to- 
gether by  ropes  of  twigs.  The  appearance  of  these 
bridges,  which  bend  with  their  own  weight,  and  wave 
with  the  wind,  was  frightful  at  first,  but  the  Span- 
iards have  found  them  the  easiest  mode  of  crossing  the 
mountain  torrents  of  Peru. 

The  Peruvians  had  a  more  simple  contrivance  for 
passing  smaller  streams  :  a  basket  in  which  the  trav- 
eller was  placed,  being  suspended  by  a  strong  rope 
stretched  across  the  river,  it  was  pushed  or  drawn 
from  one  side  to  the  other. 

The  precious  metals  were  possessed  in  greater 
abundance  by  the  Peruvians,  than  by  any  other  people 
of  America.  They  obtained  gold  by  washing  it  from 
the  sand,  and  silver  by  striking  shafts  into  the  bowels 
of  the  earth.  These  were  not  of  great  depth,  but  they 
displayed  considerable  ingenuity.  They  had  discov 
ered  the  art  of  smelting  the  silver  ore,  either  by  the 
simple  application  of  fire,  or  by  placing  it  in  a  small 
oven  so  constructed  that  the  air  performed  the  function 
of  a  bellows.  Such  was  the  abundance  of  silver,  and 
the  facility  in  working  it,  that  many  of  the  common 
utensils  of  life  were  of  this  metal. 

Enough  has  perhaps  now  been  said  of  the  works 
of  the  Peruvians  to  demonstrate  the  opulence  and 
power  of  the  Incas.  Although  of  the  genuine  history 
of  Peru  under  the  Incarial  sceptre  much  is  wanting, 
records  were  systematically  kept  by  means  of  giiipos, 
or  bunches  of  knotted  twine  of  divers  colors,  and  his- 
torical events  were  systematically  taught  to  the  higher 
classes. 


INDIANS    OF   PERU.  141 

This  curious  substitute  for  letters  had  probably  been 
brought  to  all  the  perfection  of  which  it  was  suscepti- 
ble, when  it  was  suddenly  lost,  and  the  records  of  the 
nation  perished  with  the  nation  itself  on  the  arrival 
of  the  Spaniards. 

The  word  quipu  or  quipo,  as  it  is  usually  written, 
signifies  to  knot,  and  in  a  figurative  sense,  to  reckon : 
for  numbers  and  quantities  were  thereby  summed  up. 
The  quipos  seemed  also  to  preserve  the  memory  of 
past  occurrences,  and  to  answer  other  purposes  to 
which  letters  are  applicable.  A  hank,  or  bunch  of 
quipos,  was  composed  of  pendant  strings.  Each 
string  was  about  twenty-five  inches  long,  made  of 
three  or  four  threads  twisted  as  tightly  as  whip-cord, 
and  resembling  in  some  respects  the  girdle  worn  by 
Franciscan  friars.  To  the  main  strings  were  sus- 
pended shorter  lengths  of  supernumerary  threads,  serv- 
ing to  note  exceptions  to  general  rules,  and  to  make  a 
kind  of  marginal  observations.  Different  colors  repre- 
sented different  things ;  for  instance,  yellow  stood  for 
gold,  white  for  silver,  red  for  the  soldiery,  and  so  forth. 
Colorless  things  were  enumerated  in  a  fixed  order, 
determined  by  their  relative  importance,  as  Indian 
corn,  barley,  peas,  &c.  Among  warlike  weapons,  the 
lance  claimed  precedency,  after  which  followed  the 
bow  and  arrow,  the  club,  &c. 

Accounts  of  the  revenue  receipts  and  the  progress 
of  population  also  were  kept  by  means  of  quipos, 
and  delivered  in  every  moon.  In  making  out  the  an- 
nual census  from  the  monthly  ones,  the  knots  in  one 
string  gave  the  number  of  males  above  seventy  years 
of  age,  another  string,  those  above  sixty,  and  so  on ; 


142  INDIANS   OF   PERtT. 

the  females  were  reckoned  distinctly;  the  numbers 
of  widows  and  widowers,  were  shown  by  knots  in  the 
supernumerary  threads. 

But  the  greatest  difficulty  was  experienced  in  rep- 
resenting abstract  ideas,  which,  however,  was  effected 
by  ingenious  combinations  of  knots.  Histories  were 
written  in  this  manner,  containing  not  only  details  of 
facts,  but  reflections,  also.  It  is  not,  therefore,  because 
annals  had  not  been  regularly  kept,  that  the  accounts 
we  possess  of  ancient  Peru  are  defective,  but  rather 
because  the  first  conquerors  and  their  immediate  suc- 
cessors were  for  the  most  part  regardless  of  every  pur- 
suit but  that  of  gold  and  glory. 

The  inconsiderate  zeal  of  the  priests  contributed  also 
to  the  destruction  of  the  annals  of  past  events ;  and  a 
knowledge  of  the  stringed  alphabet  was  consequently 
lost,  or  only  imperfectly  retained  in  the  pastoral  reck- 
onings of  the  husbandman,  whose  herds  or  harvests 
were  too  insignificant  to  tempt  rapacity,  or  were  hidden 
amid  the  mountains,  rocks,  or  on  table-lands,  too 
distant,  or  difficult  of  access  to  repay  the  labor  of 
ordinary  pillage.  General  Miller  states  that,  in  1825 
being  prefect  of  the  department  at  Puno,  he  had 
means  of  ascertaining  the  fact,  that  the  quipo  was  still 
understood  and  practised  in  that  district  by  shepherds. 

Deprived  of  the  assistance  which  a  knowledge  of 
the  historical  language  would  have  afforded  us,  we 
are  compelled  to  have  recourse  to  traditions  imper- 
fectly preserved,  partly  in  consequence  of  the  slight 
knowledge  of  the  Guichuan  language  ever  attained  by 
the  Spaniards.  This  will  not  be  surprising  when  we 
consider  that  even  Pizarro  could  not  write.  Numer- 


INDIANS    OF   PERTT.  143 

ous  public  documents  in  the  archives  of  Cuzco,  are 
signed  by  his  rubrica  X,  or  mark,  at  the  end  of  his 
name,  which  was  written  by  his  secretary.  The  sig- 
natures of  many  of  his  companions  are  affixed  in  the 
same  manner  to  the  same  documents,  whereas  the  hand- 
writing of  Valverde  and  of  Caravajal  is  particularly 
bold  and  plain.  But  the  principal  and  best-informed 
of  the  Spanish  conquerors  met  an  early  and  violent 
death  in  the  bloody  strife  which  broke  out  from  time  to 
lime  amongst  themselves.  Very  few,  indeed,  died  a 
natural  death,  so  that  those  who  survived  were  incom- 
petent to  give  an  accurate  description  of  the  interesting 
commonwealth  they  had  laid  in  ruins. 

The  historian  Garcilaso  de  la  Vega  Inca  may  be 
considered  an  exception.  He  was  the  son  of  a  noble 
Spaniard,  who  married  the  grand-niece  of  Huayna 
Capac,  the  eleventh  Inca.  Born  in  1540,  he  was  ed- 
ucated in  Peru,  among  the  relatives  of  his  mother, 
from  whom  he  learned  most  of  the  facts  recorded  in 
his  Commentaries,  and  wrote  in  1586. 

According  to  this  historian,  the  empire  of  Peru  was 
divided  into  four  parts,  called  Tavantinsuyu,  subdivi- 
ded into  provinces,  and  governed  on  the  principle  of 
centralisation.  The  adult  male  population  being  reck- 
oned by  tens,  a  decurion,  called  a  chunca  camayu,  was 
appointed  to  watch  over  the  remaining  nine,  together 
with  their  families  and  household  dependants.  The 
next  superior  officer  had  the  surveillance  of  five  tens, 
the  next  of  ten  tens,  the  next  of  fifty  tens,  and  the 
next  of  a  hundred  tens,  the  highest  number  compre- 
hended in  this  decimal  arrangement. 

The  duty  of  the  chunca  camayu  was  to  ascertain 


144  INDIANS   OF   PEET7 

the  specific  wants  of  the  individuals  placed  under  his 
supervision,  to  make  those  wants  known  to  the  proper 
authority,  and,  on  obtaining  the  required  supply,  to 
distribute  it.  In  this  manner  provision  was  made  of 
corn  to  sow  or  to  consume,  of  Alpaca  wool,  or  cotton 
for  clothing,  of  materials  or  manual  assistance  to  repair 
or  rebuild  dwellings  going  to  decay,  or  burned  down, 
or  levelled  by  earthquakes,  and  for  every  other  requis- 
ite. He  was  also  expected  to  denounce  the  crimes  of 
those  under  his  supervision,  and  rarely  failed  to  do  so, 
as  he  was  himself  made  responsible.  Justice  was  ad- 
ministered in  this  extraordinary  empire  with  severity 
and  despatch.  In  the  reign  of  Huayna  Capac,  a  district 
chief  underwent  the  sentence  of  death  for  having 
caused  the  land  of  his  kinsman,  a  cacique,  to  be  tilled 
out  of  his  turn,  and  before  the  land  of  a  certain  widow. 
In  respect  to  the  judicial  system  of  the  Peruvians 
generally,  we  can  only  state  that  it  corresponded  to  the 
other  institutions  of  the  country. 

In  training  the  people,  the  blended  code  of  morality 
and  legislation,  was  no  less  simple  than  beneficial  to 
the  greatest  number.  Three  concise  precepts  formed 
the  foundation  of  the  educational  system.  "Ama  sua, 
ama  quella,  ama  tlulla."  Thou  shalt  not  steal,  thou 
shalt  not  lie,  thou  shalt  not  be  idle.  These  expres- 
sions were  used  as  terms  of  greeting  whenever  the  Pe- 
ruvians met  or  parted,  and  continued  to  be  so  until  in 
1783  the  Spaniards  rigorously  forbade  the  interchange 
of  these  colloquial  expressions,  and  compelled  the  abor- 
igines to  adopt  the  Catholic  salutation  of  "Ave,  Maria, 
purissima  !  "  Hail,  Maria,  most  pure  !  which  was 
replied  to  by  "  Sin  pecado  concebida,"  conceived  with- 


INDIANS    OF    PEKTT.  145 

out  sm.  An  Indian  never  passed  a  white  man  on 
the  highway  without  giving  the  orthodox  salutation, 
and  if  "Ama  sua"  was  given  in  reply,  which  they  well 
understood,  they  appeared  half  alarmed,  as  if  consider- 
ing themselves  in  danger  of  being  entrapped  into  a 
transgression  of  the  law. 

AGRICULTURE. — In  Peru,  agriculture,  the  art  of 
primary  necessity  in  social  life,  was  more  exensive 
and  carried  on  with  greater  skill  than  in  any  part  of 
America.  The  Spaniards  in  their  progress  through 
the  country,  were  so  fully  supplied  with  provisions  of 
every  kind,  that  in  the  relation  of  their  adventures,  we 
meet  with  few  of  those  dismal  scenes  of  distress  occa- 
sioned by  famine,  in  which  the  conquerors  of  Mexico 
were  so  often  involved.  The  quantity  of  soil  under 
cultivation,  was  not  left  to  the  direction  of  individuals, 
but  regulated  by  public  authority,  in  proportion  to  the 
exigencies  of  the  community.  Even  the  calamity  of 
an  unfruitful  season,  was  but  little  felt,  for  the  pro- 
duct of  the  lands  consecrated  to  the  Sun,  as  well  as 
those  set  apart  for  the  Incas,  being  deposited  in  the 
Tambos,  or  public  store-houses,  it  remained  there  as  a 
stated  provision  for  times  of  scarcity. 

As  the  extent  of  cultivation  was  determined  with 
such  provident  attention  to  the  demands  of  the  state, 
the  invention  and  industry  of  the  Peruvians  were 
called  forth  to  extraordinary  exertions,  by  certain  de- 
fects peculiar  to  their  climate  and  soil.  All  the  vast 
rivers  that  flow  from  the  Andes,  take  their  course  east- 
ward to  the  Atlantic  Ocean.  Peru  is  watered  only  by 
some  streams  which  rush  down  from  the  mountains 
like  torrents.  A  great  part  of  the  low  country  is  sandy 
v.— 13 


146  INDIANS    OF    PERIT. 

and  barren,  and  nerer  refreshed  with  rain.  In  order 
to  render  such  an  impoverished  region  fertile,  the  in- 
genuity of  the  Peruvians  had  recourse  to  various  exper- 
iments by  means  of  artificial  canals,  conducted  with 
much  patience  and  considerable  art.  From  the  tor- 
rents that  poured  across  their  country,  they  conveyed 
a  regular  supply  of  moisture  to  their  fields.  They 
enriched  the  soil  by  manuring  it  with  the  dung  of 
sea-fowls,  now  called  guano, 

The  use  of  the  plough,  indeed,  was  not  known. 
They  turned  up  the  earth  with  a  kind  of  mattock,  of 
hard  wood.  Nor  was  this  labor  devolved  wholly 
upon  the  women.  Both  sexes  joined  in  performing 
the  necessary  work.  Even  the  Children  of  the 
Sun  set  an  example  of  industry,  by  cultivating  a  field 
near  Cuzco,  with  their  own  hands,  and  they  dignified 
this  subject  by  denominating  it  their  triumph  over 
the  earth. 

TRADE  AND  COMMERCE. — It  does  not  appear  that 
trade  and  commerce  were  carried  on  to  any  great  extent 
in  Peru.  Cuzco  was  the  chief  mart  in  the  empire, 
and  even  here,  it  does  not  seem  that  there  was  any- 
thing like  the  busy  activity  seen  on  market  days  in 
Mexico.  This  may  be  explained  by  the  manner  in 
which  property  was  held,  and  the  mode  of  regulating 
the  industry  of  the  country,  which  prevented  that  com- 
petition in  society,  which  is  the  result  of  independ- 
ence, and  individual  effort  stimulated  by  the  conscious- 
ness that  each  person  may  command  the  fruit  of  his 
industry.  Though  living  in  a  community  as  one 
great  family,  may  produce  tranquillity,  it  can  never 
carry  society  to  its  highest  pitch  of  improvement. 

I 


INDIANS   OF   PERU.  147 

CITIES. — Cuzco,  the  ancient  capital  of  the  Incas, 
is  said  to  have  been  built  by  Manco  Capac,  in  the 
tenth  or  eleventh  century  of  our  era.  In  the  year 
1534,  when  it  was  taken  by  Francis  Pizarro,  the 
Spaniards  were  astonished  at  the  magnificent  build- 
ings which  it  contained,  especially  the  temple  of  the 
Sun.  Of  this  temple,  there  remain  at  present,  only 
some  walls  of  singular  construction,  upon  which 
stands  the  magnificent  Spanish  convent  of  Santo 
Domingo. 

The  town  is  built  at  the  foot  of  some  hills  in  the 
middle  of  a  wide  valley,  which  has  an  undulating 
surface.  This  valley  extends  eastward  to  a  mountain 
stream,  the  Quilla  Camba,  and  in  the  lower  part  is 
well  cultivated,  the  fields  having  the  advantage  of  ir- 
rigation. 

The  houses  of  modern  Cuzco  are  built  of  stone, 
covered  with  red  tiles.  Many  of  them  still  retain  their 
original  walls — the  great  size  of  the  stones  used  in 
their  construction,  the  variety  of  their  shapes,  and  the 
excellent  workmanship  which  they  display,  give  to  the 
city  an  interesting  air  of  antiquity.  The  cathedral,  the 
convents  of  St.  Augustin,  and  of  La  Merced,  are  very 
large  buildings,  inferior  in  architecture  to  few  in  the 
Old  World.  Many  of  the  Spanish  houses  of  Cuzco, 
are  the  original  Peruvian  dwellings,  fitted  up  to  suit 
their  present  masters.  Whole  streets  of  these  re- 
modelled houses  are  to  be  seen,  the  walls  of  which  are 
almost  exactly  as  they  were  when  the  country  was 
conquered.  The  house  occupied  by  Valdivia,  the 
companion  of  Pizarro,  is  still  standing. 

Upon  a  lofty  hill,  a  little  north  of  the  city,  are  the 


148  INDIANS   OF   PERU. 

ruins  of  a  great  fortress  of  Zarsahuman,  many  parts 
of  the  wall  of  which  are  even  now  in  perfect  preserva- 
tion. They  consist  of  stones  of  extraordinary  size, 
and  of  polygonal  shapes,  placed  one  upon  another 
without  cement,  but  fitted  with  such  nicety  as  not  to 
admit  the  insertion  of  a  knife  between  them.  This 
stupendous  work  was  erected  by  the  Incas  for  the 
protection  of  their  capital. 

Dr.  Robertson  states,  that  Cuzco  was  the  only  city 
in  the  empire  of  Peru ;  but  the  ruins  remaining  to  this 
day  assure  us  that  the  statement  is  incorrect,  and  that 
numerous  other  towns  of  great  extent  were  scattered 
over  the  country.  Of  their  history,  however,  we 
have  no  definite  records. 

ANTIQUITIES. — We  have  already  mentioned  the 
remains  of  ancient  structures  at  Cuzco  and  other 
parts  of  the  country,  as  well  as  the  huaeas.  or  burial 
places  of  the  dead.  It  may  be  remarked  that  almost 
every  work  of  art  was  destroyed  by  the  rapacity  of 
the  Spaniards  in  their  thirst  for  gold.  Pizarro  and  his 
associates  were  less  elevated  in  their  views  and  feel- 
ings than  the  conquerors  of  Mexico.  The  walls  of 
Cuzco  and  the  ponderous  masses  of  the  temple  of  the 
Sun,  defied  their  rage,  and  subsist,  though  in  ruins,  to 
attest  alike  the  energy  and  power  of  the  Peruvians, 
and  the  gothic  ravages  of  the  Spaniards.  But  the 
royal  gardens,  once  adorned  with  animals,  birds,  in- 
sects, trees,  shrubs,  flowers,  corn,  &c.,  in  massive 
gold  and  silver,  all  grouped  in  natural  order,  were 
laid  in  ruins,  and  are  at  present  cultivated  with  wheat 
and  lucerne.  Five  noble  fountains,  within,  the  pre- 
cincts of  the  temple,  were  destroyed  by  the  Spaniards, 


INDIANS    OF    PERU.  149 

for  the  sake  of  the  golden  pipes  which  conducted  the 
water  in  channels  beneatli  the  ground  ! 

The  remains  of  the  works  of  the  Peruvians  still 
exist,  in  many  parts  of  the  country.  Among  these, 
the  ruins  of  the  ancient  fortress  of  Ollantaitambo, 
nine  leagues  north-east  from  Cuzco,  are  among  the 
most  astonishing  relics  of  the  art  and  grandeur  of  the 
ancient  Peruvians.  Walls,  of  great  height,  and  of 
curious  masonry,  rising  as  they  recede  one  above 
another,  with  their  respective  terre-pleins,  clothe  the 
side  of  a  steep  and  rugged  mountain,  the  top  of 
which  is  crowned  by  a  tower  that  must  have  been 
impregnable.  It  seems  to  have  contained  spacious 
apartments,  from  which  subterranean  passages,  now 
choked  up  with  earth  or  rubbish,  led  to  several  out- 
works, erected  at  a  considerable  distance  on  the  sides, 
and  almost  inaccessible  summits  of  neighboring  moun- 
tains, or  precipices.  Other  subterranean  works,  con- 
ducted to  extensive  plains,  intersected  by  the  river 
Tambo,  near  the  confluence  of  which  with  the  Aqua 
Callente,  are  situated  the  principal  buildings  and 
fortifications. 

The  enormous,  irregularly  shaped,  yet  highly 
polished  masses  of  rock  of  which  these  structures  are 
composed,  have  evidently  been  conveyed  from  a  quar- 
ry a  league  distant,  on  the  opposite  side  of  the  Aqua 
Callente.  Two  of  these  stones  which  were  mea- 
sured in  1835,  were  of  the  following  dimensions, 
namely,  the  one  thirteen  feet  eight  inches  in  length, 
seven  feet  four  inches  in  width,  and  five  feet  eight 
inches  in  thickness ;  and  the  other,  nineteen  feet  in 
length,  four  feet  four  inches  in  width,  and  four  feet 
13* 


150  INDIANS    OF 

in  thickness.  It  should  be  added,  that  the  latter  lies 
midway  between  the  quarry  and  Tambo,  having, 
perhaps,  been  found  too  difficult  of  transport,  whilst 
the  other  forms  part  of  the  tower. 

It  almost  surpasses  belief,  that  weights  so  enormous 
could  have  been  conveyed  across  the  deep  and  rapid 
torrent  of  Aqua  Callente,  then  lastly  fixed  with  such 
nice  precision,  one  upon  another,  without  the  aid  of 
machinery — for  there  is  no  record  of  the  ancient 
Peruvians  having  possessed  engines  suitable  for  the 
purpose.  It  is  equally  difficult  to  conjecture  how 
the  circular  monuments  of  Celestani  were  constructed. 

There  are  numerous  other  fragments  of  Peruvian 
architecture  remaining,  of  which  it  would  be  useless 
to  attempt  any  enumeration.  They  are  nearly  all  of 
a  character  similar  to  those  already  described  ;  being 
remarkable,  chiefly  for  their  dimensions,  and  the  diffi- 
culties which  must  have  been  overcome  by  their 
builders.  Worship  and  defence  were  the  purposes 
to  which  they  were  usually  devoted. 

The  remains  of  the  works  of  the  Peruvians,  which 
were  constructed  for  the  benefit  of  agriculture,  are 
still  to  be  found  in  many  parts.  The  whole  of  the 
coas':  of  Peru  is  a  continued  sandy  desert,  with  here 
and  there  an  oasis,  or  fertile  valley.  No  rain  ever 
visits  these  spots,  and  cultivation  is,  therefore,  only 
effected  by  artificial  means  of  irrigation.  The  an- 
cient inhabitants,  as  we  have  stated,  had  recourse, 
for  this  purpose,  to  numerous  subterranean  water- 
courses or  conduits,  which  still  remain  in  many 
places.  In  the  valley  of  Nazca,  they  are  about 
two  feet  in  height,  and  one  in  breadth,  lined  with  un- 


OF   PERU.  161 

Cemented  masonry  and  covered  with  slabs.  Most  of 
these  conduits  are  choked  up  with  sand,  but  some  of 
them  remain  unobstructed,  and  supply  sufficient  water 
to  impart  great  fertility  to  the  valley,  where  the  vine, 
which  is  extensively  cultivated,  often  equals  in  girth 
an  elm  of  ten  years'  growth.  How  far  under  ground 
aqueducts  extend,  or  whence  flow  the  head  waters,  is 
not  known ;  but  the  works  of  the  Peruvians  in  this 
branch  of  rural  economy  were  wonderful. 

Every  new  acquisition  to  territory,  was  followed  by 
the  construction  of  azequias,  as  these  channels  were 
called.  Their  importance  may  be  judged  from  this 
fact,  that  wherever  they  have  become  obstructed,  and 
this  has  occurred  in  many  places,  there  stretches 
a  parched  level,  where  formerly  were  fertile  fields  and 
meadows.  In  many  provinces  of  the  interior,  there 
are  mountains,  on  the  sides  of  which,  artificial  terra- 
ces, faced  with  rough  stone,  were  constructed,  resem- 
bling those  which  may  be  seen  on  some  parts  of  the 
Rhone.  These  terraces  rise  one  above  another,  to  a 
great  elevation,  and  once  produced  subsistence  for  a 
large  population.  They  are  now,  for  the  most  part, 
uncultivated,  overrun  with  useless  herbage,  and  with- 
out an  inhabitant. 

At  Chilca,  twelve  leagues  south  of  Lima,  a  village 
inhabited  to  this  day  exclusively  by  aborigines  of  un- 
mixed blood,  there  are  quadrangular  pits,  containing 
each  an  acre,  or  half  an  acre  of  ground. 

Mr.  Stevenson  informs  us  that  some  of  the  tribes 
of  wild  Indians  bury  their  dead  in  the  house  where 
they  live,  and  then  abandon  it,  building  for  themselves 
another,  and  he  seems  to  think  there  is  reason  for 


152  INDIANS    OF   PERU. 

supposing,  that  this  was  an  ancient  custom  of  the 
country.  He  adds,  that  he  dug  up  many  of  their 
bones  which  had  been  deposited  under  their  houses, 
and  they  appeared  to  have  been  buried  with  whatever 
belonged  to  them  at  the  time  of  their  death. 

"  I  have  found,"  he  says,  "  women  with  their  pots, 
pans,  and  jars  of  earthen  ware,  some  of  which  are 
very  curious.  One  kind  is  composed  of  two  hollow 
spheres  about  three  inches  in  diameter ;  they  are  con- 
nected by  a  small  tube  placed  in  the  centre  and  a 
hollow  arched  handle  to  hold  it  by,  having  a  hole  on 
the  upper  side ;  if  water  be  poured  into  this  hole  till 
the  jar  is  about  half  full,  and  the  jar  be  then  inclined 
first  to  one  side  and  then  to  the  other,  a  whistling 
noise  is  produced.  Sometimes  the  figure  of  a  man 
stands  on  each  jar,  and  if  the  water  is  poured  down 
an  opening  in  the  head,  a  similar  noise  is  produced. 
I  saw  one  of  these  at  the  Carmelite  nunnery,  at  Quito, 
having  upon  it  two  Indians  carrying  a  corpse  on  their 
shoulders,  laid  on  a  hollow  bier,  resembling  a  butch- 
er's tray.  When  the  jar  was  inclined  backwards  and 
forwards,  a  plaintive  cry  was  heard,  resembling  that 
made  by  the  Indians  at  a  funeral. 

"  The  jars  and  other  utensils,  were  made  of  good 
clay,  well  baked,  which,  with  the  ingenious  construc- 
tion just  alluded  to,  proves  that  the  Indians  were 
acquainted  with  the  art  of  pottery.  I  have  also  found 
in  these  huacas  long  pieces  of  cotton  cloth,  similar  to 
that  which  is  made  by  the  Indians  at  the  present  time, 
called  tocuyo,  many  calabashes,  quantities  of  Indian 
corn,  quinua  beans,  and  the  leaves  of  plantains,  feathers 
from  the  ostrich,  from  the  plains  of  Buenos  Ayres,  and 


INDIANS   OF    PERU.  153 

different  dresses ;  spades  of  palm-wood,  jars  filled 
with  chiche,  which  was  quite  sweet  when  discovered, 
and  became  sour  after  being  exposed  to  the  air  for  a 
short  time. 

"  I  have  found  small  dolls  made  of  cotton,  similar  in 
dress  to  those  worn  at  present  by  the  females  of  Caja- 
tamba.  It  consists  of  a  white  petticoat  and  a  piece  of 
colored  flannel,  two  corners  of  which  are  fastened  on 
the  left  shoulder  by  a  cactus  thorn,  the  middle  being 
passed  under  the  right  arm,  girt  round  the  waist 
with  a  colored  fillet,  and  open  to  the  left  side  down  to 
the  bottom,  and  a  piece  of  flannel  of  another  color,  of 
about  two  feet  square,  was  brought  over  the  shoulders 
and  fastened  on  the  breast  with  two  large  pins  of  silver 
or  gold  called  topas.  The  hair  is  divided  into  two 
side  tresses,  and  these  are  fastened  behind  at  the  ex- 
tremity, with  a  colored  fillet." 

The  principal  motive  for  digging  the  huacas,  is  to 
search  for  treasure.  Rings  and  small  cups  of  gold 
beat  out  very  thin,  and  about  as  large  as  half  of  a 
hen's  egg-shell,  are  found  there ;  and  it  is  supposed 
that  they  were  worn  in  the  ears,  for  a  small  shank  is 
attached  to  them,  like  the  buttons  worn  by  the  Indian 
females  at  present.  Slips  of  silver  about  two  inches 
broad,  and  ten  long,  as  thin  as  possible,  are  also  fre- 
quently dug  up.  The  small  pieces  of  gold  which  were 
buried  with  them,  were  placed  in  their  mouths.  Owing 
to  the  nitrous  quality  of  the  sand,  and  to  its  almost 
perfect  dryness,  the  bodies  are  quite  entire,  although 
many  of  them  have  been  buried  at  least  three  centu- 
ries. The  cloths  are  also  in  the  same  state  of  preser- 
vation, but  both  soon  decay  after  being  exposed  to  the 
snn  and  air. 


164  INDIANS    OF    PERU. 

Near  the  village  of  Supe  there  are  the  remains 
of  a  large  Indian  town,  built  on  the  side  of  a  rock  ; 
galleries  being  dug  out  of  it,  one  above  another, 
for  the  purpose  of  making  room  for  small  houses. 
Many  remains  of  these  are  still  visible ;  and  also,  of 
small  parapets  of  stone,  raised  before  them,  so  that 
the  hill  has  the  appearance  of  a  fortified  place.  Other 
vestiges  of  towns  abound  in  all  parts  of  the  country. 

PRESENT  STATE  OF  THE  PERUVIAN  INDIANS. — Not- 
withstanding the  cruelties  and  oppressions  practised 
upon  the  Indians  of  Peru,  they  constitute  a  large 
portion  of  the  present  inhabitants  of  the  country.  They 
present  nothing  of  that  fierce  aspect,  and  that  untamed 
and  ferocious  character,  which  rendered  the  Caribs,  the 
Brazilians,  and  the  Indians  of  Canada,  so  terrible  to 
European  settlers.  They  have  small  features,  little 
feet,  well  turned  limbs,  sleek,  coarse,  black  hair,  and 
scarcely  any  beard.  Ulloa  and  Bouguer  have  re- 
presented them  as  sunk  in  apathy  and  insensibility ; 
as  beings  to  whom  good  and  evil  fortune,  honor  or 
dishonor,  life  or  death,  appeared  to  be  all  alike.  But, 
though  a  certain  lameness  of  character  may  have 
been  generated  by  their  former  despotism,  it  appears 
that  the  shy,  reserved,  and  gloomy  aspect  which  they 
present  to  Europeans  has  chiefly  arisen  from  the  ex- 
perience of  oppression  and  accumulated  wrongs  ;  and 
when  it  is  often  said  that  no  expedient  can  rouse 
them  from  their  gross  ignorance,  Mr.  Stevenson  tri- 
umphantly asks,  what  expedient  has  been  employed 
for  that  purpose  ? 

The  Indians  assuredly  live  in  very  miserable  huts; 
and  they  show  a  wonderful  patience  under  the  great- 


-  INDIANS    OF    TEHtr.  155 

est  privations  ;  yet  they  do  not  neglect  the  means  of 
improving  their  condition ;  they  are  industrious  cul- 
tivators, arid  often  manufacture  beautiful  fabrics, 
from  very  simple  materials.  Several  of  them  have 
distinguished  themselves  in  the  pulpit,  and  at  the  bar ; 
and,  when  completely  at  their  ease,  they  are  found  to 
talk  with  even  an  excess  of  fluency.  Chastity,  espe- 
cially in  the  married  state,  is  a  national  virtue ;  bui 
they  are  apt  to  indulge  in  too  deep  potations  of  chica, 
their  favorite  liquor.  They  have  been  converted  to 
something  which  they  call  Christianity  ;  that  is,  they 
celebrate  the  festivals  of  the  Church  by  drinking  enor- 
mous quantities-of  chica;  dancing  through  the  streets 
to  the  sound  of  the  pipe,  with  bells  fastened  to  their 
legs,  and  cudgels,  which  they  apply  to  any  who 
attempt  to  obstruct  their  progress ;  in  these  devout 
exercises,  sometimes  a  whole  week  is  consumed. 
They  have,  in  a  good  measure,  wiped  off  the  charge 
of  cowardice,  by  late  achievements  in  the  cause  of 
Old  Spain.  Yet  they  retain  the  deepest  and  most 
mournful  recollection  of  the  Inca,  and  in  all  the 
remote  districts  annually  celebrate  his  death  by  a  sort 
of  rude  tragedy,  accompanied  by  the  most  melting 
strains  of  national  music. 

The  Guichuan,  or  Inca  language,  with  some  varia- 
tion, continues  to  be  spoken  by  about  two  thirds  of 
the  inhabitants  of  Peru  proper.  Into  this  language 
the  New  Testament  was  in  process  of  translation,  by 
a  native  of  Cuzco,  descended  from  one  of  the  Incas, 
who  was  engaged  to  undertake  this  important  service, 
for  the  British  and  Foreign  Bible  Society.  We 
do  not  know  whether  it  has  been  finished.  Some 


158  INDIANS    OF   PERTT. 

of  the  Indians  have  been  sufficiently  educated  to 
shine  in  the  legal  profession  at  Cuzco,  Lima  and 
Quito,  and  many  also  have  received  holy  orders. 

In  the  north  of  Peru,  are  Indians  bearing  a  strong 
resemblance  to  the  ancient  Incas.  They  wear  the 
hair  cut  straight  across  the  forehead,  and  cropped 
close  behind  ;  are  tall,  with  good  figures,  and  a  com- 
plexion of  tawny  yellow ;  hair  lighter  than  the  com- 
mon Indians,  with  a  bright  expression  of  countenance. 
They  wear  sashes  of  thin  white  bark,  that  fall  both 
before  and  behind,  and  have  their  heads  and  arms  or- 
namented with  the  long  feathers  of  the  scarlet  macaw. 

The  Indians  who  live  in  Lima,  make  fringes  of 
gold  and  silver  lace,  epaulettes  and  embroidery  ;  some 
are  tailors ;  others  attend  the  markets,  but  very  few 
are  servants  or  mechanics.  Some  are  fishermen, 
subsisting  on  fish,  maize,  and  the  sugar  cane,  of 
which  there  are  plantations. 

In  1825,  Edmund  Temple,  a  young  Englishman, 
went  out  to  Potosi  as  agent  for  a  mining  company 
formed  in  London.  On  his  return,  he  published  an 
account  of  his  travels,  and  of  his  residence  in  Peru, 
and  as  he  gives  some  descriptions  of  the  Indians  in 
the  mining  districts,  we  offer  a  few  extracts  : 

"  The  Peruvian  Indians  are  a  strong,  healthy  race, 
though  not  very  tall,  and  generally  laborious,  for  every 
kind  of  labor  is  performed  by  them.  In  Potosi,  how- 
ever, the  miners,  all  Indians,  have  acquired  a  charac- 
ter for  habits  of  idleness,  and  a  propensity  to  defraud 
their  employers,  which  it  must  be  admitted  is  not  alto- 
gether without  foundation,  though  I  think  the  cause 
of  the  evils  complained  of  may  be  traced  to  harsh 


INDIANS   OF   PERU.  167 

treatment,  or  to  unwarrantable  exactions  of  some  sort, 
aggression  being  as  frequent  on  one  side  as  delin- 
quency on  the  oiher. 

"•  I  know  from  experience,  that,  by  proper  manage- 
ment, their  faults  and  the  disadvantages  arising  from 
them  may  be  guarded  against,  and  in  a  great  degree 
corrected.  A  worm,  or,  if  it  be  thought  more  appli- 
cable, the  adder,  will  turn  when  trod  upon,  and  will 
then  resent  the  injury;  so  has  it  been  with  these 
Indians  before  now  ;  but,  with  kind  usage,  fair  remu- 
neration for  their  services,  and  an  impartial  conduct 
towards  them,  they  are  perfectly  tractable,  and  may 
become  good,  faithful,  and  willing  servants. 

"  During  my  residence  at  Potosi  I  have  had  occa- 
sion to  employ  many  Indians  as  well  miners  as  those 
of  other  trades  and  occupations  ;  there  is  no  want  of 
hands,  as  it  has  been  generally  supposed,  and  I  can- 
not say  that  I  have  any  cause  of  complaint  against 
them  ;  they  performed  the  work  for  which  they  were 
engaged  to  the  best  of  their  abilities,  and  at  the  com- 
pletion of  it  I  paid  them  their  hire. 

"  Sunday,  after  the  hour  of  early  mass,  is  the  cus- 
tomary time  of  paying  the  miners,  and  all  persons 
employed  in  the  ingenios ;  this  practice  I  did  not  ad- 
here to,  having  preferred  settling  all  such  matters,  so 
far  as  I  had  control,  on  Saturday  evening. 

"  At  the  appointed  hour  they  assembled  in  the 
court  before  my  office,  accompanied  sometimes  by 
their  wives  and  children,  and  if  I  happened  to  be  en- 
gaged in  any  business,  (despatching  the  couriers,  for 
instance,  when,  in  the  absence  or  illness  of  my  com- 
panions, I  have  been  employed  many  hours  of  the 
v.— 14 


158  INDIANS   OF   PERL*. 

day  '  \vriting  against  time,')  these  people  would  re- 
main, without  evincing  the  slightest  impatience,  and 
never  approach  to  ask  to  be  settled  with  till  called  by 
name  as  they  stood  upon  the  list  of  the  major-domo. 

"  They  always  expressed  their  thanks  when  they 
received  their  wages,  upon  which  subject  we  never 
had  the  most  trifling  misunderstanding,  and  only  once 
upon  another,  namely,  upon  the  subject  of  a  pickaxe 
that  had  been  stolen  out  of  our  ingenio.  It  was  worth 
fifteen  shillings  at  Potosi,  and  might  have  been  worth 
five  in  England  ;  but  the  example,  not  the  value,  de- 
termined me  upon  giving  a  color  of  infinite  importance 
to  the  case. 

"  After  the  depredation  had  been  made  known  to 
me,  and  when  the  workmen  had  assembled  to  receive 
their  week's  wages,  two  shillings  per  diem  each  man, 
I  called  them  all  into  my  office,  merely  for  the  sake 
of  exhibiting  myself  in  the  highest  possible  degree  of 
dignity,  (a  clerk  never  looks  so  dignified  as  behind 
his  own  counter,)  and  whilst  they  stood  like  culprits 
in  humility  before  me,  with  their  hats  off,  I  sat 
proudly  elevated  upon  my  judgment-seat,  with  my 
hat  on,  and  in  my  hand  a  pen — a  just  emblem  of  my 
office,  it  is  true,  and  at  the  same  time  calculated  to 
convey  terror  to  the  mind  of  the  thief,  who  knew  that, 
if  detected,  I  should  instantly  employ  it  in  an  applica- 
tion to  the  alcade  for  the  infliction  of  fine  and  im- 
prisonment. 

"  When  I  had  fixed  the  attention  of  the  party,  I 
commenced  the  dread  inquisition.  Alas  !  many  of 
their  forefathers,  for  crimes  of  as  little  note,  or  even 
the  bare  suspicion  of  them,  had  been  condemned  by  a 


INDIANS    OF    PERU. 


159 


more  horrible  inquisition,  and  before  judges  less  dis- 
posed to  render  justice  and  mercy  than  their  present 
one,  although  it  will  appear  that  even  he  was  obdu- 
rately relentless.  I  put  the  question, — 

" '  Who  stole  my  pickaxe  ? ' — Dead  silence,  each 
looked  at  each,  and  all  looked  at  me. 

"  '  Who  stole  my  pickaxe,  I  say  ?  " 

"  '  Quien  sabe  ?  '  (who  knows  ?  )  said  a  low  voice 
in  the  crowd. 

"  '  Who  knows  ? '  said  I ;  "  why,  some  of  you  know  ; 
and  I,  too,  must  know,  before  I  pay  you  one  rial  of 
your  wages.'  Then  I  proceeded  to  question  each  in- 
dividual by  name. 

"  '  Gregorio  Medrano,  did  you  steal  the  pickaxe  ?  " 

"  No,  Senor.1 

" '  Bernandino  Marquete,  did  you  steal  the  pick- 
axe ?' 

" '  No,  Senor: 

"  '  Casimiro  Chambi,  did  you  ?  ' 

"'No,  Senor.' 

And  so  on  through  the  whole  list  with  the  same 
profitless  result. 

The  Indians,  like  the  lower  class  of  Irish,  pre- 
serve inviolable  secrecy  respecting  their  own  con- 
cerns ;  an  informer  is  looked  upon  as  a  wretch  un- 
worthy to  live  among  honest  men,  or  if  permitted  to 
live,  is  loathed  as  a  demon.  Assured,  therefore,  that 
I  should  never  succeed  in  detecting  the  exact  thief, 
although  we  all  well  knew  he  was  one  of  the  party 
present,  I  proceeded  to  judgment  upon  all  of  them. 

"  Know,  then,  hermanos  mios,  (dear  brothers,)  that 
my  sentence  is  this ;  that  the  major-domo  do  now, 


160  INDIANS    OF   PERU. 

immediately,  and  on  the  spot,  put  into  his  hat  as  many 
grains  of  mats  as  there  are  of  you  here  present ;  that 
those  grains  shall  be  all  white  save  one,  which  shall 
be  black ;  and  he  who  draws  that  black  grain  shall 
pay  for  a  new  pickaxe.' 

"  Here  consternation  became  general  and  evident, 
but,  from  the  natural  darkness  of  the  Indian  complex- 
ion, it  was  impossible  to  discover  the  delinquent  from 
any  change  produced  on  his  countenance  by  the  in- 
ward workings  of  his  mind. 

" '  Now,  seiior  major-domo,  shake  your  hat  well — 
shake  it !  I  say,  that  no  suspicion  of  partiality  may  be 
entertained.  Let  each  man  in  succession  put  his  hand 
in  and  take  one  grain  of  mats,  then  withdraw  it, 
taking  care  to  keep  his  hand  shut,  and  not  to  open  it 
until  ordered  so  to  do.' 

"  This  being  done,  they  all  stood  before  me  with 
their  right  arms  stretched  out  at  full  length,  and  the 
hand  firmly  closed. 

" '  Now  for  the  detection  of  the  thief!  Open  !  Que 
es  eso  ?  (What  is  all  this  ?)  Major-domo  !  what  is  the 
reason  of  this  ? '  said  I ;  for,  to  my  astonishment,  every 
hand  was  empty. 

" '  I  really  don't  know,  sir ;  they  must  have  drawn 
the  grains  and  swallowed  them,  for  not  a  single  one 
remains  in  my  hat ! '  said  the  major-domo,  turning  his 
hat-mouth  downwards  to  prove  that  nothing  was 
there. 

"  Amazement  was  at  its  height ;  it  was  evidently  a 
case  of  bruxeria, — witchcraft.  Inaquinte  Sambrano 
observed  that  it  was  the  miraculous  interference  of 
Saint  Dimas, — the  patron  saint  of  robbers, — to  provo 


INDIANS    OF    PERU.  161 

that  there  was  no  thief  among  them.  But,  notwith- 
standing my  surprise  and  confusion,  I  determined  that 
the  saint  should  not  keep  my  pickaxe  without  paying 
for  it. 

"I  desired  the  major-domo  to  give  me  his  hat; 
upon  examining  it  the  witchcraft  was  explained.  In 
obeying  my  orders,  '  to  shake  the  hat  well,'  every 
grain  of  maize  had  absconded  through  a  rent  in  the 
crown,  and  the  floor  being  covered  with  thick  straw 
matting,  they  fell  upon  it  unheard. 

"  We  therefore  proceeded  with  more  caution  to  a 
second  drawing,  when  the  black  bean  appeared,  on 
the  show  of  hands,  in  that  of  Basil  Calamayo,  from 
whose  wages  I  directed  the  major-domo  to  purchase 
the  best  pickaxe  that  could  be  had  in  Potosi.  From 
that  hour  I  never  heard  of  any  pilfering." 

We  do  not  record  this  procedure  of  Mr.  Temple  as 
an  example  of  justice.  In  taking  the  worth  of  the 
pickaxe  in  the  manner  he  did,  from  Basil  Calamayo, 
he  probably  punished  an  innocent  person,  and  excited 
the  unreasonable  fears  of  the  ignorant  Indians.  Still 
he  seems  disposed  to  tell  the  truth,  and  bears  testi- 
mony to  their  good  as  well  as  bad  qualities.  The 
following  passage  speaks  volumes  in  their  favor.  Mr. 
Temple  might  well  ask  whether,  in  civilized  England, 
he  would  have  found  as  elevated  examples. 

"  When  I  have  arrived  weary  and  faint  at  a  Peru- 
vian hut,  with  what  pure  feelings  of  gratitude  have 
I  made  my  acknowledgments  to  the  family,  who, 
from  sheer  benevolence,  have  ceded  to  me  the  only 
little  store  they  possessed.  Often  have  I  alighted 
from  my  horse  at  an  unseasonable  hour  and  asked  for 
K  14* 


162  INDIAN'S    OF    PERU. 

milk,  offering  dollars.  "  The  answer  invariably  was, 
'  No  hai  !  no  hai,  Senor ! '  They  would  not  take  the 
trouble  of  getting  it  for  money. 

"  But  when  I  said,  '  I  am  very  unwell,  my  brother; 
do  me  the  favor  and  God  will  repay  you,'  my  feeble 
voice,  pale  cheek,  and  sunken  eye,  bearing  testimony 
to  what  I  said, — the  sire  of  the  family,  or  the  matron, 
would  mutter  something  in  Quichua,  the  language 
of  the  country,  when  instantly  an  earthen  ware  pipkin 
would  be  seized  by  one  of  the  younger  members,  who 
would  glide  away  in  pursuit  of  the  flock,  and  return- 
ing quite  breathless  from  the  haste  he  used,  would 
present  me  with  the  milk,  without  a  question  as  to  the 
payment. 

"  And  this  is  savage  hospitality  !  Could  I  expect 
more  among  the  most  polished  people  of  the  earth  ? 
Should  I  always  have  obtained  as  much  ?  " 

In  another  place  Mr.  Temple  observes,  "  I  felt  no 
apprehension  of  losing  a  single  article  of  my  bag- 
gage ;  it  had  been  entrusted  to  the  Indians,  and  in 
their  charge  required  neither  guards,  nor  swords,  nor 
pistols,  to  protect  it,  or  to  insure  its  safe  delivery. 

"  On  the  whole,  I  believe  I  am  not  singular  in  the 
opinion  that  the  worst  qualities  of  the  Peruvian  Indi- 
ans have  been  imported,  and  that  their  virtues  are 
their  own.  They  possess  a  peaceable,  unoffending 
spirit,  free  from  even  an  accusation  of  those  great 
moral  crimes  which  disgrace  civilized  nations. 

"  The  dress  of  the  men,  excepting  the  hat,  which  is 
precisely  the  shape  of  Don  Quixote's  helmet  without 
the  niche  in  it,  reminded  me  of  that  of  the  peasantry 
of  Connaught.  Thev  wear  coarse  brown  frieze  cloth 


INDIANS    OF   PERU.  163 

breeches,  with  the  waistband  very  low,  and  always 
open  at  the  knees,  the  buttons  being  for  ornament,  not 
for  use.  Shirts  are  seldom  worn  ;  the  legs  are  bare, 
with  the  exception  of  pieces  of  hide  under  the  soles 
of  the  feet,  tied  sandal-fashion  round  the  instep  and 
toes. 

"  The  dress  of  the  female  Indians  consists  of  a  pet- 
ticoat, worn  much  shorter  by  the  unmarried  than  by 
those  that  are  married,  and  a  scarf  of  sundry  colors 
round  the  shoulders,  which  is  pinned  on  one  side  of 
the  chest  with  a  topa,  a  large  silver  pin ;  but  some- 
times they  use  a  spoon,  the  handle  of  which  being 
pointed  serves  as  a  pin. 

"  Cholas,  those  descended  from  Spanish  and  Indian 
parents,  are  very  fond  of  dress.  I  have  seen  them 
with  topas  of  gold,  set  with  pearls  and  precious  stones 
of  considerable  value." 


164 


THE  ARAUCANIANS 


ARAUCO,  or  Araucama,  occupies  the  western  slop? 
of  the  Andes,  in  the  southern  part  of  Chili.  Though 
an  elevated  district,  the  soil  is  fertile,  and  the  climate 
delightful.  It  is  indeed  a  beautiful  region,  and  suited 
to  the  interesting  people  who  inhabit  it. 

When  Chili  was  invaded  by  Almagro,  the  compan- 
ion of  Pizarro,  in  1535,  he  found  the  country  inhabited 
by  numerous  tribes  possessing  a  warlike  character, 


THE    AttAUCAMANS.  165 

md  in  this  respect,  being  strongly  contrasted  with  the 
Peruvians.  Disgusted  with  the  hardships  he  encoun- 
tered, he  returned  to  Peru.  Valdivia  succeeded  him, 
and  after  a  severe  contest  of  ten  years,  subdued  the 
greater  part  of  the  country,  and  founded  several  cities. 
But  he  had  yet  to  contend  with  the  Araucanians,  a 
brave  nation  of  mountaineers,  who  had  made  some 
advances  in  civilization,  and  who  cherished  their 
liberty  as  above  every  other  possession.  Valdivia 
marched  against  them,  but  he  was  defeated,  taken 
prisoner,  and  put  to  death.  The  exploits  of  the  Arau- 
canian  leaders,  ^Caupolican  and  Lautaro,  have  fur- 
nished an  interesting  theme  for  the  muse  of  the  Span- 
ish poet  Ercilla.  In  spite  of  the  efforts  of  succeeding 
generals,  the  Araucanians  baffled  every  attempt  to 
subdue  them,  and  remain  to  this  day  in  a  state  of  in- 
dependence, possessing  the  soil  which  was  the  home 
of  their  fathers.  They  have  entered  into  a  treaty 
with  the  republican  government  of  Chili  and  even 
agreed  to  a  kind  of  union. 

The  Araucanians  have  introduced  some  European 
customs,  though  they  are  not  greatly  changed  since 
the  days  of  Valdivia.  They  have  now  horses  and 
horned  cattle,  and  have  adopted  the  rude  agriculture 
of  the  Spaniards.  They  have  added  the  musket  to 
their  original  arms  of  the  bow,  arrow  and  club,  but 
their  religious  belief,  and  most  of  their  customs  are 
the  same  as  those  of  former  times. 

Their  complexion  is  of  a  reddish  brown,  though 

*  For  the  history  of  the  Araucanians,  and  the  Life  of  Can- 
polican,  see  "History  of  American  Indians,"  and  "Lives  of 
Famous  Indians.'' 


166  THE    AKAUCAN1AK3. 

considerably  lighter  than  that  of  other  Indians.  They 
have  round  eyes,  full  of  expression,  flat  noses,  hand- 
some mouths,  and  remarkably  even,  white  teeth. 
The  hair  is  thick  and  black,  and,  growing  to  a  great 
length,  is  twined  in  tresses  around  their  heads.  The 
men  exterminate  the  beard  with  great  care.  They 
are  seldom  grey  before  60  or  70  years,  and  baldness 
or  wrinkles  are  rare  at  so  early  a  period.  They  often 
live  to  the  age  of  a  hundred,  retaining  their  sight  and 
teeth  unimpaired.  They  possess  the  elements  of  a 
high  moral  character ;  generous  and  faithful,  intrepid 
and  courteous,  enthusiastic  and  patient,  they  seem 
formed  to  challenge  the  admiration  of  more  civilized 
nations. 

DRESS. — The  clothing  of  the  Araucanians  is  chiefly 
of  wool.  The  men  wear  a  shirt,  vest,  and  pair  of 
breeches,  usually  of  a  greenish  blue.  They  have  also 
a  cloak,  which  they  call  poncho,  consisting  of  a  square 
piece  of  cloth  of  ample  length,  with  a  hole  in  the  mid- 
dle for  the  head.  This  garment  is  often  made  of  fine 
materials,  and  some  of  them  are  so  elegant  as  to  sell 
for  150  dollars.  A  broad  sash  for  the  waist  is  common. 
The  head  is  covered  with  a  cap,  or  bandage  in  the 
form  of  an  ancient  diadem.  The  common  people  go 
barefoot.  Persons  of  condition  wear  sandals  and 
woollen  boots  of  many  colors. 

The  dress  of  the  women  is  a  tunic  of  turquoise 
color,  a  girdle,  and  a  short  cloak,  fastened  in  front,  as 
well  as  upon  the  shoulders  with  brooches  and  buckles. 
This  is  without  sleeves.  Their  dress  is  never  varied, 
except  as  to  diversities  of  color  and  finery.  They 
divide  their  hair  in  several  tresses  which  float  upon 


THE    ARAUCANIANS. 


167 


their  shoulders.  They  use  a  profusion  of  false  emer- 
alds, necklaces  and  bracelets  of  glass,  and  ear-rings  of 
square  pieces  of  silver.  Each  finger  is  also  often 
decorated  with  a  silver  ring. 


DWELLINGS. — The  Araucanians  live  in  scattered 
villages,  in  houses  large  or  small,  according  to  the 
wants  of  the  family.  They  are  usually  of  mud,  but 
sometimes  wholly  or  in  part  of  stone  or  wood.  Noth- 
ing beyond  ordinary  comfort  is  sought,  either  in  the 
construction  or  furniture  of  the  house.  Cleanliness  is  a 
prevailing  virtue.  Bathing  is  common  with  all  classes. 
The  women  sweep  the  houses  and  courts  several  times 
a  day  and  are  scrupulous  to  wash  their  utensils  as 
soon  as  used.  They  are  very  neat  in  their  persons, — 
combing  their  heads  twice  a  day,  and  every  week 
washing  them  with  soap  made  from  the  bark  of  the 
quillai.  A  spot  of  dirt  is  not  to  be  seen  on  the  dress 
of  an  Arauraninn  woman. 


168  THE    ARAUCANlAXb. 

FOOD  AND  DRINK. — The  principal  subsistence  of 
this  simple  people,  consists  of  several  kinds  of  grain 
and  pulse  which  they  prepare  in  many  ways.  Maize 
and  potatoes  are  their  chief  articles  of  food.  The  lat- 
ter are  among  the  finest  in  the  world,  and  no  less  than 
thirty  different  kinds  are  cultivated.  They  eat  little 
flesh,  and  less  fish.  They  live  in  families, — the  mas- 
ter of  the  house  presiding  at  the  table.  Their  com- 
mon drinks  are  beer  and  cider. 

They  have  feasts  and  entertainments  upon  occasions 
of  interest,  as  funerals,  marriages,  &c.  No  pains 
are  then  spared  to  promote  festivity.  Three  or  four 
hundred  people  are  often  together  at  such  times,  and 
the  entertainment  is  kept  up  for  two  or  three  days. 
These  revels  are  frequent  throughout  the  year:  the 
men  of  property  being  ambitious  to  signalize  their 
hospitality  in  this  way. 

AMUSEMENTS. — Music,  dancing  and  play  constitute 
their  chief  sports.  They  have  the  same  instruments  of 
music,  whether  for  peace  or  war.  These  are  exceed- 
ingly harsh,  and  combined  with  the  singing,  produce 
an  effect  not  unlike  that  of  filing  a  saw.  In  their 
dances  they  are  seen  trotting  through  the  rooms  with 
uncouth  movements,  adapted  to  their  songs.  Among 
their  favorite  games  is  that  of  comican,  which  greatly 
resembles  chess.  The  quechu  has  an  affinity  to  back- 
gammon. The  youth  exercise  themselves  in  running, 
wrestling  and  other  gymnastics,  all  of  which  are  imi- 
tations of  war. 

RELIGION. — The  Araucanians  acknowledge  a  su- 
preme being  whom  they  call  Pillau,  meaning  the 
Supreme  Essence.  They  give  him  the  titles  of 


THE    ARAUCANIANS.  169 

Spirit  of  Heaven,  the  Great  Being,  the  Thunderer,  the 
Creator,  the  Omnipotent,  the  Eternal,  the  Infinite. 
His  universal  government  is  a  prototype  of  their  civil 
policy;  he  is  considered  the  great  toqui  of  the  invisi- 
ble world,  and  as  such  he  has  his  ulmenes,  or  assist- 
ants, to  whom  he  commits  subordinate  affairs.  These 
ulmenes  constitute  the  inferior  deities,  which  are  nu- 
merous, descending  even  to  the  grade  of  household 
gods  and  familiar  spirits.  The  people  are  supersti- 
tious, believe  in  divination,  and  pay  great  attention  to 
omens.  The  Araucanian  warrior,  who  fearlessly 
faces  death  in  a  battle,  trembles  at  an  unseasonable 
meeting  with  an  owl.  Many  of  them  believe  in  ap- 
paritions, phantoms,  and  hobgoblins;  but  their  wise 
men  laugh  at  these  follies. 

They  have  no  temples  or  idols,  and  offer  no'  exte- 
rior worship  to  their  gods,  though,  in  cases  of  calami- 
ty, they  sacrifice  animals  and  burn  tobacco,  as  a 
grateful  incense.  They  believe  in  the  immortality 
of  the  soul,  and  that  after  death,  they  all  go  to  a 
country  toward  the  sea,  which  is  divided  into  two 
parts ;  one  of  which,  the  abode  of  the  good,  is  filled 
with  everything  that  can  delight  the  heart;  the  other, 
the  habitation  of  the  wicked,  is  a  desolate  region, 
where  disease,  want,  and  poverty  prevail. 

Their  funeral  are  occasions  of  great  ceremony. 
The  dead  body  is  laid  out  in  its  best  dress,  and  during 
the  night  which  follows  its  decease,  the  relatives,  with 
those  who  come  to  console  them,  pass  around  it  weep- 
ing, eating  and  drinking.  After  two  or  three  days 
the  body  is  borne  by  the  principal  relations  to  the 
burial  place.  It  is  there  laid  on  the  ground,  and 
v.— 15 


170  THE    ARAtCAMANS. 

being  supplied  with  implements  and  provisions,  it 
is  covered  with  earth  and  stones,  arranged  in  a  py- 
ramidal form.  The  attendants  then  take  leave  with 
many  tears,  wishing  the  departed  a  prosperous  jour- 
ney. 

MEDICINE. — The  medical  practice  of  the  Arauca- 
nians  is  blended  with  superstition.  They  have  some 
physicians,  who  are  skilful  herbalists ;  there  are  oth- 
ers whose  process  of  cure  is  a  mere  incantation.  This 
is  performed  at  night,  in  the  sick  room,  lighted  with 
torches,  and  consists  of  various  mummeries. 

GOVERNMENT,  &c. — The  country  of  Arauco  is  di- 
vided into  four  districts,  each  being  governed  by  a 
hereditary  ruler,  called  toqui.  These  are  confederat- 
ed together,  for  their  mutual  benefit,  both  in  peace 
and  war.  Particular  portions  of  these  districts  are 
governed  by  inferior  chiefs,  also  hereditary,  who  bear 
the  name  of  ulmcnes.  When  war  is  declared,  the 
toquis  elect  a  general  among  themselves,  or  the  peo- 
ple at  large,  and  he  assumes  the  command.  Their 
arms  are  spears,  shields,  bows,  arrows,  clubs,  and  of 
late  years,  the  musket.  When  they  set  forth  on  an 
expedition,  each  man  merely  carries  a  small  bag  of 
parched  meal,  trusting  that,  ere  long,  they  will  be 
comfortably  quartered  on  the  territory  of  the  enemy. 
Their  leaders  have  shown  great  military  talent,  as 
well  in  the  planning  as  the  conducting  of  their  cam- 
paigns ;  and  the  common  soldiers  display  a  courage 
and  daring  which  no  nation  has  ever  surpassed. 
Never  have  the  Araucanians  been  known  to  sue  for 
peace,  and  the  terms  of  accommodation  between  them 
and  the  Spaniards  have  always  been  dictated  by  the 
mountaineers. 


i:    AKAl"CAMA\S. 


171 


The  cliief  towns  of  the  country  are  Arauco,  Tarbul 
and  Tucapel.  These,  however,  are  mere  villages, 
perched  on  the  top  of  almost  inaccessible  rocks.  The 


Araucanian  Warrior. 

abode  of  the  principal  cacique  in  one  of  these  towns 
was,  a  few  years  since,  a  thatched  house,  with  mud 
walls,  sixty  feet  long,  and  twenty  broad.  In  the  rear, 
throughout  the  whole  extent,  was  a  series  of  stalls, 
used  for  sleeping  apartments. 

Polygamy  prevails  among  the  chiefs  and  wealthy 
men.  The  hard  labor  is  generally  performed  by 
the  women,  who  plough,  sow,  and  reap.  They  also 


172  THE    ARAUCANIANS. 

weave  the  ponchos,  which  are  the  chief  manufacture 
of  the  country.  Marriage  is  always  celebrated  with  a 
show  of  violence,  for,  even  after  her  consent  is 
obtained,  the  bridegroom  conceals  himself  on  the  road, 
and  as  the  bride  approaches,  he  seizes  her  and  carries 
her  off.  This  pantomime  is  carried  through  with 
great  dramatic  effect  on  both  sides.  The  bridegroom 
then  takes  the  bride  to  his  house,  where  friends  are 
collected  and  an  entertainment  suitable  to  the  joyous 
occasion,  is  provided. 

ORATORY,  &c. — The  Araucanians  have  no  books,  and 
no  other  literature  than  what  is  found  in  their  tradi- 
tions. Oratory,  however,  is  held  in  high  estimation, 
and  cultivated  with  success.  The  son  of  a  chief 
who  has  not  this  gift  is  thought  to  lack  an  endowment 
proper  to  his  rank.  Some  of  them  understand  Span- 
ish, but  they  are  careful  to  avoid  the  corruption  of 
their  own  language  by  the  intermixture  of  foreign 
words.  Their  taste  in  composition  is  exceedingly 
critical,  and  the  common  people  will  often  stop  a  pub- 
lic speaker,  to  correct  him  in  his  language.  They 
have  their  poets  who  are  called  Qitempin,  lords  of 
speech.  These  are  guided  only  by  the  impulse  of 
the  imagination.  Their  effusions  are  chiefly  allegori- 
cal, and  are  generally  devoted  to  the  exploits  of  their 
heroes.  They  are  full  of  lively  images  and  startling 
metaphors,  and  appear  to  possess  the  art  of  moving  the 
sensibilities  of  those  to  whom  they  are  addressed. 
They  use  blank  verse  of  eight  or  eleven  syllables — 
measures  which  are  always  pleasing  to  the  ear. 
Rhymes  are  sometimes  introduced. 

The  Araucanians  are  a  proud  race ;  believing  them- 


THE    ARAUCAXIANS.  173 

selves  the  noblest  of  their  kind,  they  despise  the  rest 
of  the  world.  Their  kindness  is  easily  won  ;  but  their 
anger  is  also  speedily  roused.  Contempt  they  never 
forgive.  To  each  other  they  are  full  of  kindness,  and 
their  complaisance  even  runs  to  excess.  Not  a  beg- 
gar, or  indigent  person,  is  to  be  found  in  their  whole 
territory — all  are  decently  clad,  and  the  natural  hos- 
pitality of  the  people  banishes  want  from  the  land.  A 
stranger  is  welcome  among  them,  and  a  traveller  may 
go  from  one  end  of  thp  Country  to  another,  without 
expense. 


174 


THE   ABIPONES 


THE  Abiponians  are  one  of  the  most  remarkable  of 
the  original  tribes  of  America.  They  formerly  occu- 
pied the  province  of  Chaco,  a  large  tract  in  the  centre 
of  Paraguay.  Being  disturbed  by  a  branch  of  their 
people,  the  Mokoby  tribe,  they  went  eastward  in  1770, 
and  founded  the  colony  of  Las  Garzas,  under  the 
protection  of  the  Spaniards.  Here  they  have  retained 
nearly  their  original  character,  in  spite  of  the  efforts 
of  the  Catholic  missionaries  to  convert  them. 

According  to  the  account  of  the  Jesuit  missionary, 
DobrizhofFer,  the  Abipones  are  an  interesting  and  ex- 
traordinary people.  They  are  a  well  made,  tall  and 
handsome  race,  with  faces  of  the  European  form,  and 


THE    ABIPONES.  175 

a  skin  quite  light  colored.  Their  bodies  are  robust, 
and  capable  of  enduring  the  greatest  extremes  of 
hunger  and  fatigue ;  their  vigor  endures  even  till  old 
age,  and  a  man  of  a  hundred  years  may  be  often 
found  who  can  leap  on  his  horse,  and  continue  riding 
for  several  hours.  The  teeth  and  sight  continue  un- 
impaired, and  if  a  person  dies  at  eighty,  he  is  thought 
to  have  come  to  an  untimely  end. 

The  Abipones  have  strict  notions  in  regard  to  dress, 
deeming  it  unseemly  to  go  naked.  They  use  a 
square  piece  of  linen  thrown  over  the  shoulders,  con- 
fining it  to  the  body,  and  above  this  they  wear  a 
mantle,  also  of  linen,  tied  unde'r  the  chin.  The  men 
have  the  beard  and  eyebrows  plucked  out  by  old  wo- 
men, with  a  pair  of  horn  tweezers.  They  shave  their 
heads,  leaving  a  circle  of  hair.  Both  sexes  are 
tattooed  with  ineffaceable  black  dye.  The  face,  arms, 
and  other  parts  of  the  body  are  decorated  with  various 
figures.  This  process,  which  consists  of  pricking  the 
liquid  into  the  flesh  by  means  of  thorns,  is  exceeding- 
ly painful,  and  performed  by  old  women.  The  girls, 
at  a  marriageable  age,  are  obliged  to  submit  to  this 
torture,  and  if  they  shrink  they  are  jeered  into  com- 
pliance. The  greater  the  number  of  figures  a  wo- 
man displays,  the  higher  is  her  rank  in  the  scale  of 
fashion.  The  men  wear  ear-rings,  and  the  women 
adorn  their  necks  with  strings  of  vanilla  seeds,  and 
beads  of  gum. 

The  Abipones  make  considerable  use  of  the  flesh 
of  animals  taken  in  the  chase.  They  are  said  to  be 
fond  of  tiger's  flesh,  and  to  drink  melted  fat  from  the 
body  of  that  animal.  They  reject  mutton,  fish,  eggs 


176  THE    ABIPONES. 

and  other  things  of  the  kind,  as  producing  sloth  of 
body,  and  cowardice  of  soul.  They  make  bread  of 
the  manioc  or  cassava,  and  take  their  meat  almost 
raw. 

These  people  live  in  houses  made  of  poles  thatched 
with  mats.  They  frequently  remove  from  place  to 
place,  usually  travelling  on  horseback.  The  wife's 
horse  is  generally  loaded  with  her  husband's  bow 
and  quiver,  as  well  as  all  the  pots,  gourds,  jugs, 
shells,  and  other  furniture,  together  with  the  infant,  if 
there  be  one.  In  crossing  rivers,  they  frequently  take 
hold  of  the  tail  of  the  horse  and  are  thus  drawn  over. 
They  sometimes  make  a  boat  of  a  bull's  hide,  for  the 
purpose  of  transporting  their  baggage. 

They  are  unacquainted  with  spades,  ploughs,  and 
axes.  The  women  spin  threads  of  bark,  which  are 
formed  into  cords,  nets,  and  coarse  cloths.  They  use 
thorns  for  pins  and  needles.  Of  the  caraquata  they 
obtain  soap  and  sugar.  The  women,  also,  mould 
pots  and  jugs,  of  earth,  make  combs  of  bristles,  and 
harnesses,  horse  cloths,  carpets,  and  wrappers  of  the 
skins  of  the  jaguar.  Their  religious  notions  are  ob- 
scure ;  they  believe  in  an  evil  spirit,  and  call  the  con- 
stellation of  the  Pleiades  their  grandfather.  They 
have  many  superstitions,  and  jugglery  is  largely 
practised  among  them. 

In  war  the  Abipones  are  in  the  highest  degree 
savage  and  ferocious.  They  are  among  the  most 
dexterous  horsemen  in  the  world,  seeming  to  rival  the 
Camanchees  in  their  equestrian  feats.  Upon  a  march 
they  proceed  with  amazing  rapidity,  crossing  rivers, 
and  deserts,  and  astonishing  their  .enemies  by  bursting 


THE    AB1PONES. 


177 


suddenly  upon  them,*  On  going  to  battle,  they 
often  strip  themselves  naked,  as  if  to  express  con- 
tempt of  the  weapons  of  the  enemy.  Their  govern 
ment  consists  in  dividing  the  people  into  several 
hordes,  each  of  which  is  headed  by  a  chief,  who  ex- 
ercises magisterial  authority.  The  number  of  the 
tribe  is  now  greatly  reduced,  there  being  scarcely 
more  than  5000  of  the  pure  blood. 

*  For  a  further  account  of  these  people,  see  "  Famous  In- 
diaas,"  article,  Ychoalai. 


178 


VARIOUS  SOUTH  AMERICAN  TRIBES. 


Head  of  a  Patagoniari. 

PATAGOMA,  the  southern  portion  of  South  Ame- 
rica, is  still  in  possession  of  the  original  tribes,  who 
remain  to  this  day  a  race  of  savages.  They  are 
expert  horsemen,  pursuing  and  catching -the  rhea,  or 
American  ostrich,  as  well  as  wild  cattle,  with  the 
lasso.  They  are  of  large  stature,  and  for  a  long  pe- 


VARIOUS    SOUTH    AMERICAN    TUIBKS.  179 

riod  were  deemed  a  race  of  giants.  They  dwell  in 
miserable  huts,  go  half  naked,  and  feed  on  flesh  and 
vegetables,  scarcely  cooked.  They  believe  in  an  in- 
visible god  whom  they  call  lochu,  the  Unseen.  They 
believe  the  sick  possessed  of  demons,  and  the  physi- 
cians beat  drums  about  them,  to  exorcise  the  evil 
spirits.  They  often  bury  the  dying  before  the  breath 
of  life  has  departed. 

The  Fuegians,  who  dwell  around  the  chill  and  stor- 
my coasts  of  Terra  del  Fuego,  are  a  miserable  and 
squalid  race,  living  chiefly  on  fish.  They  are  of 
a  low  grade  of  intellect,  and  seem  debased  both  in 
body  and  mind.  Though  their  atmosphere  is  filled 
with  sleety  rain  a  great  part  of  the  year,  they  go  half 
naked,  and  their  habitations  are  frail  tenements  of 
sticks,  bark  and  earth. 

The  Gauchos,  who  inhabit  the  wild  surface  of  the 
Pampas  of  La  Plata,  and  appropriate  to  themselves  the 
countless  herds  that  roam  over  them,  are  a  singular 
race.  They  are  Europeans,  who  have  lived  so  long 
as  hunters,  apart  from  civilized  society,  that  they  have 
became  almost  mere  savages.  They  are  a  great  part 
of  the  time  on  horseback,  and  are  so  little  accustomed 
to  the  use  of  their  feet  that  they  can  hardly  walk. 
Their  vigor  in  the  chase  is  almost  supernatural.  The 
houses  are  cottages  of  mud,  and  infested  with  vermin. 
Many  of  them  are  robbers,  and  woe  to  the  traveller 
who  falls  in  their  way. 

The  Indians  of  the  Pampas  are  still  somewhat  nu- 
merous, and  are  even  more  savage  than  Gauchos.  The 
two  races  maintain  desperate  hostilities  with  each 
other.  The  savages  nre  finely  mounted,  and  pos- 


180 


VARIOUS    SOUTH   AMERICAN    TRIBES. 


sess  the  vigor  of  character  belonging  to  their  Arauco 
blood,  of  which  they  are  descended.  They  delight 
in  midnight  surprises,  butchering  the  men  and  carry- 
ing off  the  girls  for  wives,  who,  in  this  capacity,  are 
kindly  treated. 

The  Indians  of  Brazil  are  in  a  much  more  uncivil- 
ized state  than  those  of  the  former  Spanish  territories. 
They  have  never  been  incorporated  with  the  Eu- 
ropean population,  but  have  usually  retired,  before  the 
march  of  civilization,  into  the  depths  of  the  forests. 
The  missionaries  have  done  something  for  a  few  of  the 
tribes,  and  these  have  adopted  the  fashion  of  covering 
the  body.  But  none  of  them  cultivate  the  soil,  or 


have  tame  animals.  They  subsist  solely  upon  the 
spontaneous  products  of  nature  ;  they  dig  up  roots,  and 
use  the  arrow  with  amazing  dexterity.  They  eat 
monkeys,  and  it  is  said,  human  flesh. 


VARIOUS  SOUTH   AMERICAN   TRIBES.  181 

As  among  other  savages,  some  most  uncouth  cus- 
toms prevail.  The  Botocudos,  who  inhabit  the  back 
settlements  of  Porto  Seguro,  have  a  favorite  mode  of 
ornamenting  themselves  by  what  is  called  the  botogue. 
This  consists  of  large  pieces  of  wood  pendent  from 
the  ears  and  the  under  lip,  to  which  they  are  fastened 
by  holes  made  for  that  purpose.  The  result  is  that 
the  ears  are  stretched  till  they  hang  down,  like  wings, 
sometimes  to  the  shoulders,  while  the  lip  is  made  to 
project,  and  half  the  lower  teeth  are  protruded  in  the 
processes  of  eating  and  speaking.  They  sometimes 
also  paint  themselves  frightfully,  the  body  black  and 
the  face  red,  probably  to  strike  terror  into  the  hearts 
of  their  enemies.  The  Furies,  Pataches,  Macha- 
caries,  with  sundry  other  tribes,  of  name  and  aspect 
equally  uncouth,  have  the  same  general  character 
with  sundry  fantastic  peculiarities  belonging  to  each. 

Along  the  banks  of  the  Orinoco,  there  are  still  va- 
rious tribes,  which  seem  to  have  made  small  advances 
in  civilization.  Some  of  these  believe  that  their  fa- 
thers grew  upon  a  tree  ;  and  one  of  the  rudest  tribes 
among  them,  the  Othomacas,  suppose  themselves  de- 
scended from  a  pile  of  stones  upon  the  top  of  a  huge 
rock.  At  death  they  suppose  they  all  return  to  stone, 
as  they  came  from  it.  It  is  one  of  their  odd  customs 
to  give,  for  a  first  marriage,  a  young  girl  to  an  old 
man,  and  a  youth  to  an  old  woman  ;  for  they  say  if 
the  young  people  came  together  there  could  be  no 
good  household  management.  Polygamy  is  not  prac- 
tised among  them. 

Their  color  is  of  a  yellowish  cast,  inclining  to  cop- 
per, and  their  long  coarse  hair  grows  low  down  on 
v.— 16 


182  VARIOUS   SOUTH   AMERICAN    TRIBES. 

their  foreheads  ;  their  noses  are  said  to  be  sharp  at 
the  point,  as  of  a  person  worn  out  by  illness.  They 
have  large  mouths  and  thick  lips,  \vilh  eyes  black, 
melancholy  and  inexpressive ;  their  general  air  is 
heavy  and  sad. 

Mr.  Semple,  a  late  traveller,  gives  a  description  of 
some  parties  of  Indians  he  saw  going  to  seek  for  work 
in  the  coffee  plantations,  where  they  were  employed 
in  picking  the  berries  ;  the  men  were  strong,  though 
not  so  well  limbed  as  the  Indians  of  North  Ameri- 
ca. Some  of  them,  he  observes,  "  while  they  rested 
their  burthens,  amused  themselves  by  blowing  into 
a  species  of  flute,  one  of  the  rudest  ever  sounded  by 
the  human  breath.  The  sound  was  like  that  of  tu <• 
wind  sighing  in  the  forest  or  among  rocks — some- 
times rising  almost  to  a  scream,  and  then  dying  away 
almost  to  a  whisper.  This  alternate  rise  and  fall 
constituted  the  whole  of  the  music,  which,  except- 
ing the  drum  of  the  negroes,  consisting  of  a  ^olid 
piece  of  wood  beat  by  two  sticks,  was  the  rudest  I 
ever  heard.  It  seemed,  however,  to  afford  infinite  sa- 
tisfaction to  those  for  whose  ears  it  was  designed  ; 
they  listened  in  silence,  and  when  the  performers 
reached  the  height  of  screaming,  all  eyes  wore  turned 
towards  us,  to  see  if  we  were  not  yet  touched  by  such 
masterpieces  of  melody." 

These  people  travel  over  mountains  and  valleys 
more  than  a  hundred  miles,  to  Caraccas,  with  poultry, 
in*huge  basket  cages,  made  of  canes  and  rushes,  some 
of  them  six  feet  high.  They  have  a  conical  top,  di- 
vided into  five  or  six  stages,  full  of  fowls,  monkeys 
and  parrots.  They  carry  ihem  on  their  backs  sup- 


VARIOUS    SOUTH    AMERICAN    TRIBES.  1S3 

ported  by  a  broad  strap,  which  goes  over  the  forehead. 
The  boys  begin  with  email  cages,  gradually  increas- 
ing their  size  and  weight,  until  they  arc  able  to  carry 
the  largest.  When  arrived  at  this  point  there  is  great 
exultation  among  them. 

The  nations  on  the  banks  of  the  Mar  an  on  and  Ori- 
noco, are  acquainted  witli  a  poison  called  Wouiali,  in 
which  they  dip  their  arrows  employed  i.i  hunting,  and 
if  they  only  pierce  the  skin,  the  blood  fixes  and  con- 
geals, and  the  strongest  animals  fall  motionless ;  but 
the  flesh  may  be  eaten  with  entire  safety,  and  retains 
its  native  relish  and  flavor.  The  chief  ingredient  of 
the  poison  is  the  juice  extracted  from  the  root  of  the 
curac,  a  kind  of  shrub.  In  the  other  parts  of  South 
America,  they  use  the  Manchenille  which  operates 
with  the  same  activity. 

THE  CARIES. — When  Columbus,  in  1493,  discovered 
the  beautiful  cluster  of  islands,  called  the  Antilles, 
they  were  the  abode  of  the  Caribs,  a  people  who  were 
regarded  almost  as  demons  by  the  gentle  and  effemin- 
ate Indians  of  Cuba,  and  the  adjacent  islands.  They 
were  indeed  warlike,  and,  to  their  enemies,  ferocious. 
They  were  also  cannibals,  and  followed  other  revolt- 
ing practices  of  savage  life. 

They  were,  however,  further  advanced  in  the  arts 
than  the  other  inhabitants  of  the  West  Indies,  and 
possessed  in  a  higher  degree  the  moral  and  intellec- 
tual elements  of  civilization.  They  had  houses,  called 
carets,  set  on  posts,  and  thatched  with  leave*  of  the 
plantain.  These  were  divided  into  rooms,  according 
to  the  wants  of  the  family.  They  had  boats  with 
sails,  forty  feet  in  length  ;  they  fabricated  hammocks 


184  VARIOUS    SOUTH    AMERICAN    TRIBES. 

of  cotton  cloth,  nicely  fitted  and  highly  ornamented  ; 
they  made  bread  of  the  manioc ;  had  seasonings  of 
pimento  and  lemon  juice  for  their  meats,  which  were 
well  cooked ;  and  possessed  the  art  of  making  intoxi- 
cating beverages.  They  manufactured  cotton,  but  not 
to  cover  the  body,  for  they  went  naked.  They  deco- 
rated their  persons  with  metallic  ornaments,  and  their 
heads  with  feathers.  Painting  the  body  was  univer- 
sal. Even  when  a  person  died,  his  corpse  was  painted 
red,  and  the  mustaches  were  rendered  peculiarly  black 
and  shining.  In  war  they  used  poisoned  arrows. 

Their  love  of  liberty  was  indomitable.  Their  con- 
querors attempted  to  reduce  them  to  a  state  of  slavery, 
but  they  chose  rather  to  die,  than  to  submit  to  such 
servitude.  Under  continued  wrongs  and  oppressions, 
they  dwindled  away,  and  have  faded  from  the  islands 
where  they  were  first  discovered,  and  to  which  they 
gave  their  name.  The  whole  race  was  supposed  to 
have  perished,  but  Humboldt  discovered  that  some  of 
the  Indians  on  the  Orinoko,  are  of  this  stock.  These 
are  described  as  a  fine  race,  with  figures  of  a  reddish 
copper-color,  resembling  antique  statues  of  bronze. 
They  shave  a  great  part  of  the  forehead,  which  gives 
them  somewhat  the  appearance  of  monks ;  they  wear 
only  a  tuft  on  the  crown.  They  have  dark,  intelligent 
eyes,  a  gravity  in  their  manners,  and  in  their  features 
an  expression  of  severity,  and  even  of  sadness.  They 
still  retain  the  pride  of  a  conquering  people,  who,  be- 
fore the  arrival  of  the  Spaniards,  had  driven  before 
them  all  the  native  tribes  in  that  part  of  the  continent. 
A  great  proportion  of  them,  however,  have  now  been 
civilized  in  a  surprising  degree  by  the  missionaries, 
who  exercise  over  them  an  almost  absolute  sway. 


VARIOUS   SOUTH   AMERICAN   TRIBES.  185 

Each  holiday  they  present  themselves,  loaded  with 
offerings  of  almost  every  kind  which  can  be  acceptable 
to  ihe  priest ;  and  after  divine  service,  those  of  both 
sexes,  who  have  been  guilty  of  any  offence,  receive 
in  his  presence  a  sound  whipping,  which  they  bear 
with  exemplary  patience.  They  cruelly  torment  their 
children  by  imprinting  on  them  the  barbarous  orna- 
ment produced  by  raising  the  flesh  in  stripes  along 
the  legs  and  thighs.  They  are  free,  however, 
from  the  equally  savage  practice  of  flattening  the 
head  by  compression,  which  is  general  among  the 
other  tribes  of  the  Orinoco,  the  specimens  of  whose 
crania,  shown  as  destitute  of  forehead,  are  merely 
skulls  shaped  between  planks.  In  this  country  occur 
the  caste  of  Albinos,  with  white  hair,  of  weakly  and 
delicate  constitution,  low  stature,  and  very  effeminate 
character :  they  have  large  eyes,  and  are  so  very 
weak-sighted,  that  they  cannot  endure  the  rays  of  the 
sun,  though  they  can  see  clearly  by  moonlight. 


16  » 


186 


THE  ATLANTIC   TRIBES   OE   NORTH 
AMERICA. 

THE  country  east  of  the  Mississippi,  from  Florida 
to  Hudson's  Bay,  was  in  the  possession  of  various 
tribes  of  Indians,  when  the  first  English  settlement 
was  made  at  Jamestown,  in  1607.  Their  number  has 
been  variously  estimated  from  500,000  to  4,000,000. 
In  the  space  of  a  little  more  than  two  centuries,  they 
have  been  swept  away,  with  the  exception  of  a  few 
insignificant  remnants.  Most  of  the  tribes  are  entirely 
extinct,  and  are  without  a  name,  except  in  the  pages 
of  the  historian.  A  few  have  receded  before  the  tide 
of  civilization,  and  their  descendants  are  found  scat- 
tered throughout  the  Great  Valley  of  the  West. 

The  most  celebrated  of  these  eastern  tribes,  were 
the  Massachusetts,  who  occupied  the  shores  of  the 
bay  which  bears  their  name,  and  were  resident  at  the 
places  now  known  as  Salem,  Charlestown,  Lynn,  and 
the  islands  of  Boston  harbor :  the  Pokanokets,  the 
Narragansetts  of  Rhode  Island,  the  Pequots  of  Con- 
necticut, the  Five  Nations  of  New  York,  embracing 
the  Mohawks,  Senecas,  Cayugas,  Oneidas  and  Canan- 
daiguas,  the  Delawares  of  the  Middle  States,  the  Yem- 
assees  of  the  Carolinas,  and,  farther  south,  the  Cataw- 
bas,  Cherokees,  Creeks,  and  Chickasaws.  There 
were  many  other  tribes,  and  some  of  considerable  im- 
portance, but  these  we  have  named,  chiefly  figure  in 
the  early  history  of  the  country. 


THE    ATLANTIC    TRIBES    OF    NORTH    AMERICA.      1S7 

These  Indians  were  all  in  the  strictest  sense  sava- 
ges. They  had  none  of  them  the  slightest  knowledge 
of  the  use  of  iron,  nor  had  they  any  tame  animals. 
Their  government  was  of  the  simplest  form,  and  their 
arts  extended  no  farther  than  to  supply  them  with 
the  common  necessaries  of  life.  Their  religion  was 
a  crude  superstition,  embracing  the  general  idea  of  a 
Great  Spirit,  with  notions  of  many  inferior  divinities. 
Their  dwellings  were  rude  tenements,  made  of  poles, 
thatched  with  leaves,  or  covered  with  skins.  They 
had  no  towns,  and  no  commerce. 

Yet  these  people  appeared  to  live  for  the  most  part 
a  life  of  ease,  in  the  midst  of  abundance,  enjoying  the 
wild  pleasures  of  savage  life.  Around  the  heads  of 
bay?,  and  along  the  banks  of  rivers,  where  fish  were 
plentiful,  and  where  also  the  deer  was  abundant,  they 
seemed  to  collect  in  swarms.  In  other  parts  of  the 
country,  they  were  more  scattered,  and  there  were 
some  considerable  districts  entirely  uninhabited. 

In  two  respects  the  American  Indians  were  a  very 
remarkable  race.  There  is  a  striking  resemblance 
throughout  the  whole  family,  from  Labrador  to  Pata- 
grnia.  There  is  no  other  example  of  a  population  so 
widely  spread,  which  bears  such  uniformity  of  form 
and  aspect.  At  the  same  time,  these  people  seemed 
to  be  peculiarly  unchangeable  in  their  physical  char- 
acteristics. Even  those  who  remain  among  us,  the 
descendants  of  the  Penobscots  and  the  Mohicans, 
though  degraded  by  imbibing  the  vices  of  civilized  so- 
ciety, have  still  the  same  general  aspect  as  their  pro- 
genitors two  centuries  ago.  Wherever  you  meet  an 
Indian,  you  are  struck  with  a  look  of  mingled  mystery 


88     THE    ATLANTIC    TK1BES    OF    NORTH    AMERICA. 

and  melancholy  in  his  countenance,  a  peculiar  lofti- 
ness in  his  bearing,  and  a  taciturnity  which  it  is  diffi- 
cult to  overcome. 

The  tribes  that  remain  in  the  West  possess  the  same 
aspect  and  the  same  physical  attributes  as  their  fore- 
fathers. They  have  also  many  customs  which  have 
come  down  to  them  from  their  ancestors.  Yet  most 
of  them  have  undergone  serious  modifications  in  their 
modes  of  life.  Nearly  all  have  obtained  horses  from 
the  white  people,  and  some  of  them  are  rich  in  these 
animals.  Most  of  them  have  fire-arms,  and  instead  of 
skins  for  clothing,  they  get  blankets  and  cloths  from 
the  \vhites.  They  have  also  knives,  beads  and  trinkets 
of  various  sorts,  which  they  obtain  from  the  white 
traders.  They  are  all  savages,  however,  except  the 
Creeks,  Choctaws  and  Chickasaws,  who  have  partially 
adopted  the  habits  of  civilized  life.  We  propose  now 
to  give  a  general  view  of  the  savag'e  tribes  of  North 
America,  chiefly  as  they  were  between  one  and  two 
centuries  ago.  We  shall  then  present  a  separate 
sketch  of  the  leading  tribes,  noticing  some  of  the 
striking  customs  of  each. 


189 


MANNERS  AND  CUSTOMS  OF  THE  SAV- 
AGE TRIBES  OF  NORTH  AMERICA. 


GENERAL  VIEAV. 

THE  aspect  of  the  North  American  Indians  is 
grave,  even  to  sadness  ;  at  the  same  time  they  are 
modest  and  respectful ;  and,  however  ignorant  and 
degraded,  there  is  about  them  a  native  dignity  that 
commands  respect.  They  are,  in  general,  near  the 
height  of  Europeans.  There  is  among  them  a  great 


190  INDIANS    OF    NORTH   AMERICA. 

uniformity  .of  color,  which  is  compared  to  that  of  cop- 
per, but  they  may  be  said  to  be  nearer  the  complexion 
of  well  smoked  ham.  Among  their  prominent  fea- 
tures are  high  cheek  bones,  with  the  face,  in  the  line 
below  the  eyes,  uncommonly  wide  ;  long,  sleek,  black 
hair,  finer  than  a  horse's  mane,  but  much  resembling 
it.  A  beard  was  universally  considered  disgraceful, 
and  was  plucked  out  with  great  perseverance.  Mr. 
Jefferson  says,  he  has  seen  an  Indian  beau  with  a  look- 
ing-glass in  his  hand  for  hours  together,  pulling  out 
every  hair  upon  the  chin  he  could  discover.  Their 
foreheads  were  almost  invariably  retiring.  They  were 
remarkably  straight  and  well  limbed,  and  a  deformed 
person  was  rare  among  them.  Health  was  generally 
enjoyed  by  all;  they  were  capable  of  enduring  great 
fatigue  and  severe  hardships.  The  Indian  has  been 
truly  called  "  the  Stoic  of  the  woods,  the  man  without 
a  tear."  It  has  been  said,  that  in  amputation  and 
other  surgical  operations,  their  nerves  do  nut  shrink 
or  siiow  the  same  tendency  to  spasm  with  those  of  the 
whites.  When  a  savage,  to  explain  his  insensibility 
to  cold,  had  reminded  the  white  man  how  little  his 
own  face  was  affected  by  it,  in  consequence  of  constant 
exposure,  he  added,  "  my  body  is  all  face." 

Many  of  them  lived  to  a  great  age,  but  none  of 
them  were  much  esteemed  unless  they  had  great  bodily 
strength.  When  parents  or  relatives  became  old,  and 
infirm,  it  was  considered  as  an  act  of  mercy  for  the 
nearest  of  kin  to  release  them  from  the  sorrows  of  life. 

They  did  not  allow  themselves  to  be  hurried  in 
their  words  and  actions,  by  an  intemperate  warmth, 
except  in  cases  of  hatred  to  their  enemies,  which 


INDIANS   OF   NORTH   AMERICA.  101 

sometimes  carried  them  to  excess.  The  best  trained 
courtier  has  not  a  countenance  so  inaccessible  to  the 
displays  of  emotion  as  the  Indian. 

If  he  i"?  absent  many  months  in  war,  or  huming,  and 
is  met  by  his  wife  ana  children  on  his  return,  he  con- 
tinues on  homeward,  without  taking  the  slightest 
notice  of  them  ;  and  when  arrived  at  his  hut,  he  sits 
down  and  smokes  with  an  aspect  of  entire  unconcern. 
It  may  be  several  hours  before  he  relates  what  has 
happened,  although  a  father,  brother,  or  son  may  have 
been  left  dead  on  the  field.  Should  he,  in  hunting,  go 
many  days  without  food,  and  call  at  the  hut  of  a 
friend,  he  takes  care  not  to  show  the  least  impatience 
at  his  famishing  condition,  lest  he  should  be  wanting 
in  fortitude,  and  be  called  a  woman. 

An  Indian  seldom  jests,  and  generally  speaks  low 
and  under  his  breath  ;  loquacity  he  deems  an  indica- 
tion of  being  a  trifling  person,  whose  deeds  are  so 
much  less,  just  in  proportion  as  his  words  are  more. 
If  you  tell  him  that  his  son  has  taken  many  scalps,  he 
says,  "  It  is  well ;" — if  his  son  is  slain,  he  says,  "  It 
does  not  signify;  "  and  yet,  notwithstanding  this,  there 
are  many  proofs  of  parental  and  filial  affection,  that 
vie  with  those  in  the  cherished  tales  of  antiquity. 

If  an  Indian  has  a  friend  in  danger  of  being  killed, 

o  o 

by  some  one  to  whom  he  is  obnoxious,  he  does  not 
tell  him  so  in  plain  words,  but  he  asks,  in  an  indiffer- 
ent manner,  what  way  he  is  going  that  day  ;  then 
with  the  same  indifference  he  tells  him,  a  dog  lies 
near  that  spot  that  might  do  him  harm,  and  the  hint 
proves  sufficient.  Their  politeness  never  allows  them 
to  contradict  a  statement ;  so  that  it  is  often  difficult  to 
know  what  impression  is  made  on  their  minds. 


192  INDIANS   OF   NORTH  AJIERICA. 

As  a  general  custom  the  women  are  the  drudges 

c  o 

of  the  community — bringing  home  their  game — per- 
forming the  out-door  labor  of  their  simple  agriculture, 
&c.  They  also  prepared  the  ordinary  food  and  be- 
verage in  use  among  them,  and  took  care  of  the  chil- 
dren, of  whom  the  fathers  had  no  charge.  While  the 
women  were  invariably  the  slaves  of  the  men,  still  the 
servitude  was  less  oppressive  with  some  tribes  than 
with  others.  From  a  happy  conformation,  their  con- 
finements detained  them  but  a  few  hours  from  their 
laborious  occupations.  The  newborn  infant  is  soon 
placed  on  a  board,  stuffed  with  moss ;  it  is  laid  on  its 
back  and  wrapped  in  skins  to  keep  it  warm,  and  se- 
cured with  small  bent  hoops  fastened  with  strings.  It 
is  then  hung  to  the  branches  of  trees,  or  a  stump,  post, 
or  stone,  while  the  squaws  go  on  with  their  labor. 
When  they  are  taken  out,  the  boys  go  naked ;  the  girls 
wear  a  shift  or  short  petticoat. 

The  Indians  in  walking  are  remarkable  for  placing 
one  foot  in  a  right  line  before  the  other,  and  seldom 
turn  their  toes  from  that  line.  When  several  are  tra- 
velling together,  they  walk  in  a  line,  one  after  another, 
or  what  is  called  "Indian  file."  Mr.  Flint  says, 
"  We  have  frequently  seen  the  husband  and  wife,  the 
mother  and  daughter,  the  father  and  son,  and  even  two 
equals  in  age,  walking  together,  apparently  engaged 
in  earnest  conversation,  but  never  advancing  abreast." 
Among  the  tribes  who  have  horses,  the  women  ride 
astride,  and  sit  with  their  knees  bent,  a  custom  which 
makes  them  walk  badly. 

The  habits  of  minute  observation,  cultivated  by 
their  mode  of  life,  are  well  illustrated  by  the  following 


INDIANS   OF   NORTH   AMERICA.  193 

anecdote.  A  hunter  belonging  to  one  of  the  vestern 
tribes,  on  his  return  home  one  day,  to  his  hut,  discov- 
ered that  his  venison,  which  had  been  hung  up  to  dry, 
had  been  stolen.  After  making  observations  upon  the 
spot,  he  set  off  in  pursuit  of  the  thief,  whom  he 
tracked  through  the  woods.  Having  gone  a  little 
distance,  he  met  some  persons  of  whom  he1  enquired 
if  they  had  seen  a  little  old  white  man,  with  a  short 
gun,  accompanied  by  a  small  dog  with  a  short  tail. 
They  replied  in  the  affirmative  ;  and,  upon  the  Indian 
assuring  them  that  the  man  thus  described  had 
stolen  his  venison,  they  desired  to  be  informed  how  he 
was  able  to  give  such  a  minute  description  of  a  person 
he  had  not  seen?  The  Indian  replied  thus,  "the 
thief  I  know  is  a  little  man,  by  his  haying  made  a  pile 
of  stones  to  stand  upon,  in  order  to  reach  the  venison 
from  the  height  I  hung  it  standing  on  the  ground ; 
that  he  is  an  old  man,  I  know  by  his  short  steps, 
which  I  have  traced  over  the  dead  leaves  in  the 
woods;  and  that  he  is  a  white  man,  I  know  by  his 
turning  out  his  toes  when  he  walks,  which  an  Indian 
never  doos.  His  gun  I  know  to  be  short  by  the  mark 
the  muzzle  made  in  rubbing  the  bark  of  the  tree  on 
which  it  leaned;  that  his  dog  is  small  I  know  by  his 
tracks  ;  and  that  he  has  a  short  tail,  I  discovered  by 
the  mark  it  made  in  the  dust  where  he  was  sitting  at 
the  time  his  master  was  taking  down  the  meat. 

DRESS. — Before  the  arrival  of  the  Europeans  in 
America,  the  usual  dress  of  the  Northern  Indians  was 
composed  of  the  skins  of  wild  beasts,  which  were 
dressed  with  great  care,  and  made  into  robes,  petti- 
coats, trousers  and  blankets.  In  summer  their  clothing 
M  v._17 


194 


INDIANS    OF   NORTH   AMERICA. 


hung  loosely  about  them,  and  was,  by  the  men,  often 
laid  entirely  aside ;  but  in  winter  they  wrapped  their 


garments  closely  about  their  waists.  Upon  their  feet 
they  wore  shoes  without  heels,  generally  made  of 
moose-hide  or  buckskin,  and  called  moccasins.  These 
.vere  fitted  tightly  to  the  shape  of  the  foot,  and  were 
gathered  at  the  toes  and  ankles,  and  fastened  with 
thongs.  In  winter  they  wore  snow-shoes,  consisting 
of  a  net-work  of  deer  skin  thongs,  upon  a  frame-work 
of  small  sticks.  Upon  the  loose  edges  of  the  skins 
which  formed  their  clothing,  they  fastened  porcupine- 
quills,  and  often  even  the  scalps  of  their  enemies. 
The  common  dress  of  the  women,  who  paid  great  re- 
gard to  the  claims  of  modesty,  was  a  shift  of  leather, 


INDIANS    OF    NORTH    AMERICA.  195 

which  covered  the  body,  leaving  the  arms  bare  ;  and  a 


Snow-shoes. 

petticoat  of  the  same  material,  reaching  from  the 
waist  to  the  knees. 

The  Virginian  and  other  Southern  Indians,  dressed 
in  much  the  same  manner  with  those  of  the  north,  ex- 
cepting that  they  were  obliged  to  adapt  their  dress  to 
the  greater  heat  of  the  climate.  In  the  hottest  parts  of 
summer,  very  little  clothing  of  any  sort  was  used. 

In  later  times,  furs  and  skins  have  gone  very  much 
out  of  vogue,  giving  way  to  the  cloths  and  cottons  of 
the  manufacture  of  the  whites.  The  garment  now 
usually  worn  by  the  men  is  a  figured  cotton  shirt ;  the 
women  wear  petticoats  of  the  same  material.  Blank- 
ets and  leggins  of  blue,  red,  and  green  cloth,  are  in 
ordinary  use  by  both  sexes. 

The  Indians  have  always  displayed  a  great  taste 
for  personal  decorations,  and  have  perhaps,  as  much 
vanity  in  respect  to  their  necklaces  of  fishbones,  and 
earrings  of  sea  shells,  as  the  fashionables  of  Broadway 
for  their  laces  and  silks.  The  quantity  and  beauty 
of  their  ornaments  depended  not  only  upon  the  rank 


196  INDIANS    OF    NORTH    AMERICA. 

or  business  of  the  wearer,  but  upon  the  tribe  to  which 
he  belonged,  as  well  as  upon  his  ambition  to  wear  and 
his  power  to  obtain.  The  hair  was  sometimes  braided 
and  decorated  with  small  ornaments  of  silver ;  some- 
times it  was  filled  with  plumes  and  feathers,  and  often 
cut  and  fashioned  into  fantastic  and  whimsical  shapes. 
The  northwestern  tribes  shave  the  hair  entirely  off 
the  head,  considering  it  a  point  of  chivalry,  however, 
to  leave  a  tuft  on  the  top,  so  that,  in  war,  if  the  more 
difficult  part  of  capturing  is  accomplished,  the  busi- 
ness of  scalping  may  be  easily  performed. 

Necklaces,  arm-bands,  wrist-bands,  broaches,  and 
buckles,  made  of  beads,  shells  and  silver,  are  very 
commonly  used.  The  Indians  of  some  tribes,  upon 
festive  occasions,  fasten  brass  bells  and  thimbles  around 
their  ankles,  which  produce  a  tinkling  noise,  and  thus 
attract  the  attention  of  spectators.  Ear-rings  of  bone, 
sea-shells,  and  stone,  are  very  common  ;  they  formerly 
wore  pendants  in  the  nose,  made  of  silver,  and  re- 
sembling a  dollar  in  size  and  shape.  This  ornament, 
which  was  once  indispensable  to  a  fashionable  Indian's 
toilet,  has  lately  gone  almost  entirely  out  of  fashion. 

The  use  of  paint  and  grease,  by  the  Indians,  can 
hardly  be  said  to  have  been  solely  for  the  purpose  of 
ornament,  for  a  permanent  coat  over  the  whole  skin 
was  generally  formed  by  their  mixture,  serving  as 
much  the  purposes  of  utility  as  of  decoration.  It  de- 
fended the  body  from  cold,  and  from  the  numerous 
insects  which  fill  the  forests  in  summer  ;  and  helped 
to  preserve  the  strength  of  the  warrior  or  hunter,  by 
checking  perspiration. 

Tattooing  consists  in  making  gashes  in  the  flesh, 


INDIANS    OF    NOKTII    AMERICA. 


197 


with  some  sharp  instrument,  and  then  filling  them 
with  some  indelible  dye  or  ink,  so  as  to  make  .images 
permanent  through  life.  The  figures  thus  formed, 
vary  according  to  the  fancy  of  the  individual.  The 
necessity  of  watchwords  is,  by  this  means,  some- 
what removed,  as  most  of  the  tribes  had  one  figure  in 
common,  called  their  totem,  by  which  all  the  mem- 
bers were  at  once  known. 


Foppery  in  dress  is  almost  entirely  confined  to 
the  men,  the  women  being  usually  modest  and  sim- 
ple in  their  attire.  Mr.  Flint  gives  us  the  following 
description  of  an  Indian  dandy.  "A  young  Indian 
warrior  is  notoriously  the  most  thoroughgoing  beau 
17* 


198  INDIANS    OF    NORTH   AIMEUICA. 

in  the  world.  Broadway  and  Bond  street  furnish  no 
subjects  that  will  spend  as  much  time,  or  endure  as 
much  crimping  and  confinement,  to  appear  in  full 
dress.  We  think  that  we  have  observed  such  a  char- 
acter constantly  employed  with  his  paints  and  his 
pocket-glass,  for  three  full  hours,  laying  on  his  paints 
and  arranging  his  tresses,  and  contemplating,  with 
visible  satisfaction,  from  time  to  time,  the  progress  of 
his  attractions.  The  chiefs  and  warriors,  in  full 
dress,  have  one,  two,  or  three  clasps  of  silver  about 
their  arms,  and  generally  jewels  in  their  ears.  Paint- 
ed porcupine  quills  are  twirled  in  their  hair.  Tails 
of  animals  hang  from  the  head  behind,  or  from  the 
point  where  they  were  originally  appended  to  the 
animal.  A  necklace  of  bears'  or  alligators'  teeth,  or 
claws  of  the  bald  eagle,  or  common  red  beads,  or, 
wanting  these,  a  kind  of  rosary  of  red  thorns  hangs 
about  the  neck.  From  the  knees  to  the  feet  the  legs 
are  ornamented  with  great  numbers  of  little,  perforat- 
ed cylindrical  pieces  of  silver,  or  brass,  that  tinkle  as 
the  person  walks.  If  to  all  this,  he  add  an  Ameri- 
can hat,  and  a  soldier's  coat,  of  blue,  faced  with  red, 
over  the  customary  calico  shirt,  he  steps  firmly  on 
the  ground,  to  give  his  tinklers  a  simultaneous  noise, 
and  apparently  considers  his  appearance  with  as  much 
complacency,  as  the  human  bosom  can  be  supposed  to 
feel." 

HABITATIONS,  FURNITURE,  &c. — The  dwellings  of 
the  American  Indians,  both  Northern  and  Southern. 
were  so  much  alike  in  their  general  appearance,  that 
the  Europeans,  on  their  arrival,  could  detect  no  dis- 
tinction in  their  forms,  and  the  materials  of  which 


INDIANS    OF    NORTH    A31E1UCA. 


199 


they  were  composed,  though  the  manner  of  driving 
".he  stakes  was  sufficient  to  inform  an  Indian  what 
ribe  had  encamped.  All  the  American  Indians,  but 


Chipperca  lodges  of  the  present  day. 

more  particularly  those  of  New  England,  constructed 
their  habitations  by  bending  and  twisting  young  trees 
together,  in  the  form  of  an  arbor,  and  interweaving 
with  them,  nets  and  rushes  ;  at  other  times  they  would 
drive  stakes  into  the  ground,  and  cover  them  with 
skins.  These  dwellings  were  called  wigrcamx.  They 
had  no  chimneys,  and  the  smoke  of  their  fires  was  al- 
lowed to  pass  out  by  an  opening  left  in  the  top  of  the 
house.  Their  doors  were  merely  apertures,  which, 
in  stormy  weather,  were  covered  with  pieces  of  skin. 
They  chose  their  situations  for  their  villages  with 
great  discrimination,  and  were  always  guided  in  their 
choice  by  the  chances  they  saw  of  obtaining  plenty 


200  I^iDlA.NS    OF    SOitTU 

of  fuel  and  fooJ.  They  were  never  attracted  by  a 
picturesque  and  romantic  spot,  nor  by  a  commanding 
prospect ;  but  \vher. j  thcr-j  wure  rivers  and  brooks  \viih 
fresh  water  and  fresh  fish,  there  you  might  ahvays 
see  clusters  of  Indian  huts  and  wigwams. 

The  following  description  of  the  houses  of  the  New 
England  Indians  is  from  Wood's  "  New  England  Pros- 
pect," published  in  London  in  1664. 

"  The  frames  of  their  houses  are  formed  like  our 
garden-arbours,  something  more  round,  very  strong 
and  handsome,  covered  with  close-wrought  mats  of 
their  owne  weaving,  which  deny  entrance  to  any  drop 
of  raine,  though  it  come  both  fierce  and  long,  neither 
can  the  piercing  North  winde,  finde  a  crannie,  through 
which  he  can  conveigh  his  cooling  breath  ;  they  be 
warmer  than  our  English  houses  ;  at  the  top  is  a 
square  hole  for  the  smoakes  evacuation,  which  in  rainy 
weather  is  covered  with  a  pluver:  these  bee  such 
smoakie  dwellings,  that  -when  there  is  good  fires,  they 
are  not  able  to  stand  upright,  but  lie  all  along  under 
the  smoake,  never  using  any  stooles  or  chaires,  it  being 
as  rare  to  see  an  Indian  sit  on  a  stogie  at  home,  as  it 
is  strange  to  see  an  Englh.k  rman  sit  on  his  heels 
abroad. 

"  Their  housesjire  smaller  in  the  summer,  when  their 
families  be  dispersed,  by  reason  of  heate  and  occasions. 
In  winter  they  make  some  fiftie  or  threescore  foote 
long,  fortie  or  fiftie  men  being  inmates  under  one 
roofe  ;  and  as  is  their  husbands  occasion  these  poore 
tectonists  are  often  troubled  like  snailes,  to  carrie  their 
houses  on  their  backs  sometimes  to  fishing  places, 
other  times  to  hunting  places,  after  that  to  a  planting 
place,  where  it  abides  the  longest." 


INDIANS    OF    NORTH   AMERICA.  201 

The  only  difference  between  the  dwellings  of  the 
Northern  and  Southern  Indians  was,  that  while  the 
former  were  built  merely  with  reference  to  the  conve- 
nience of  their  owners,  the  latter  were  constru-ted 
with  some  regard  to  beauty  and  order.  This  fact  is 
accounted  for  by  supposing  that  the  Indians  of  the 
south  had  a  greater  abundance  of  fuel  and  food,  a 
wanner  c'i'nuic,  ami  a  more  fertile  soil,  and  thus  had 
some  leisure  for  respecting  the  claims  of  decency  and 
regularity.  Their  dwellings  were  therefore  more 
tasteful,  and  their  general  appearance  more  neat. 
They  had  a  very  common  custom,  also,  of  surround- 
ing whole  villages  with  fortifications  of  upright  poles, 
set  in  the  ground,  against  their  enemies,  generally 
ten  or  twelve  feet  high,  and  often  of  two  or  three  thick- 
nesses. Even  when  the  whole  settlement  was  not 
thus  defended,  they  enclosed  within  palisades,  the 
house  of  the  king,  their  idols  and  sacred  relics. 

The  furniture  used  by  the  Indians  of  America  was 
always  of  the  simplest  kind,  and  the  smallest  value. 
Their  beds  were  composed  of  mats,  skins,  leaves,  or 
boughs.  Roger  Williams  says,  "  their  fire  is  instead 
of  our  bed-clothes.  And  so  themselves  and  any  that 
have  occasion  to  lodge  with  them  must  be  content  to 
turne  very  often  to  the  fire,  if  the  night  be  cold,  and 
they  who  first  wake  must  repaire  the  fire."  Chairs 
and  stools  were  entirely  unknown.  Their  beds,  such 
as  they  were,  furnished  all  the  seats  they  required. 
They  had  wooden  and  stone  vessels,  and  baskets  of 
osier  and  birch-bark.  Their  sharp  instruments  were 
composed  of  stones,  shells,  bones  or  reeds  ;  the  use  of 
iron  and  steel  beins:  unknown.  Utensils  of  curious 


202  INDIANS    OF    NORTH    AMERICA. 

shapes  and  for  purposes  not  understood,  are  at  this 
day  continually  found  buried  in  the  soil. 

The  manners  of  the  Indians  of  the  north  and  west 
are  gradually  becoming  improved  by  their  contact  with 
the  whites.  Their  dwellings,  therefore,  are  better,  and 
the  improvements  of  civilization  are  finding  their  way 
into  their  midst.  They  now  often  make  their  floors 
of  planks,  and  nails  are  used  to  some  extent.  In  the 
remotest  parts  of  the  country,  however,  the  customs 
of  the  whites  have  not  penetrated,  and  the  huts  and 
furniture  of  the  inhabitants  are  much  the  same  as 
those  used  by  their  ancestors  two  hundred  years  ago. 
The  wandering  tribes  use  tents,  covered  with  skins, 
which  are  carried  with  them  from  place  to  place. 
Some  of  these  bands  have  mud  villages  where  they 
reside  in  winter,  being  accustomed  to  remove  from 
place  to  place  during  the  summer. 

FOOD. — The  food  of  the  Indians  was  coarse  and 
simple  in  the  extreme,  and  totally  destitute  of  season- 
ing ;  and  although  the  vast  prairies  of  the  west,  are 
covered  for  miles  together  with  an  incrustation  of  salt, 
and  though  the  country  abounds  in  salt-springs,  in 
their  primitive  state,  they  never  look  unon  it  as  an 
article  of  service.  They  fed  upon  the  flesh  of  the 
bear,  the  buffalo,  elk,  deer,  beaver  and  raccoon ;  upon 
wild  geese,  turkeys  and  ducks ;  in  short,  upon  every 
variety  of  flesh,  fish  and  fowl,  which  the  country  af- 
forded. In  summer  they  eat  a  mixture  of  corn  and 
beans,  called  succotash,  of  which  they  were  very  fond. 
Their  winter's  food  consisted  of  such  vegetables  as  they 
could  save  during  the  summer,  together  with  acorns, 
nuts  and  roots.  "  These  akornes  they  drie,"  says 


INDIANS   OF   NORTH   AMERICA.  203 

Roger  William?,  "  and  in  case  of  want  of  cornc,  by 
much  boyling  they  make  a  good  di^h  of  them ;  yea, 
sometimes  in  plentie  of  corne  doe  they  eat  these 
akornes  for  a  novekie." 

All  the  tribes  sat  cross-legged  at  their  meals,  or 
rather  with  their  ankles  crossed  in  front  of  them ;  or 
sometimes  they  rested  in  a  reclining  posture,  leaning 
upon  one  elbow,  in  the  fashion  of  the  ancient  Romans. 
They  had  no  regular  meals,  but  eat  whenever  they 
were  hungry,  and  then  in  a  most  voracious  manner. 
They  sometimes  fasted  for  many  days,  but  when  any 
food  was  to  be  had,  amply  repaid  themselves  for  their 
previous  privation.  Their  only  drink  was  water,  cold 
and  fresh  as  it  bubbled  from  the  spring. 

At  the  banquets  the  men  formed  the  first  groups  ;  in 
the  next  were  the  wo-.nen,  children  and  dogs,  a  hetero- 
geneous assemblage,  who  were  often  very  gluttonous; 
while  the  men  were  comparatively  moderate.  It  is 
said,  that  on  the  aggregate,  there  never  was  a  nation 
or  people  who  seemed  to  care  less  for  the  pleasures  of 
the  table,  and  who  in  reality  consumed  less  than  tho 
North  American  Indians.  They  understood  the  mean- 
ing of  the  maxim,  though  they  had  never  heard  it, 
"  eat  to  live,  not  live  to  eat." 

The  southern  Indians  suffered  less  from  scarcity  of 
food,  than  those  of  the  north,  for  their  rivers  gave 
them  more  fish,  the  woods  supplied  them  with  more 
fruits,  and  the  fields  with  more  game.  In  Virginia 
and  the  neighborhood,  there  were  large  quantities  of 
cherries,  plums,  currants  and  berries ;  chestnut*. 
bazlenuts  and  walnuts;  grapes,  melons,  potatoes  and 
pumpkins  They  used  to  bruise  the  strawberry  in  a 


204  INDIANS   OF   NORTH   AMERICA. 

mortar,  and  mix  it  with  meal,  thus  forming  a  kind  of 
bread.  They  also  made  a  dish  to  this  day  called 
hominy,  by  boiling  pounded  corn  ten  or  twelve  hours. 

Of  the  cooking  of  the  Indians  it  has  been  said,  "  It 
has  nothing  commendable  in  it,  but  that  it  is  performed 
with  little  trouble ;  they  have  no  other  sauce  but  a 
good  stomach,  which  they  seldom  want."  They  had 
three  ways  of  cooking  their  flesh  and  fish.  They 
boiled  them  in  vessels  of  clay,  or  bark,  by  putting 
into  them  stones  heated  for  the  purpose.  They  broiled 
on  the  naked  coals,  and  roasted  by  covering  with  hot 
ashes.  Another  method  was  to  Larbacue  their  meats, 
which  consisted  in  hanging  it  up  on  sticks  placed  at  a 
short  distance  from  the  fire.  They  used  parched  corn 
to  a  great  extent.  They  extracted  sugar  from  the 
maple  tree,  and  used  it  to  sweeten  their  cakes  which 
were  made  of  ground  corn  mixed  with  chestnuts,  beans 
and  berries. 

The  food  of  the  Indians  of  the  present  day  continues 
to  be  much  the  same  as  in  former  times.  Their  mode 
of  cookery  has  altered  but  little,  and  the  change  has 
been  caused  by  the  neighborhood  of  the  whites.  They 
have  obtained  from  them  various  convenient  utensils 
for  cooking,  of  which  their  ancestors  had  no  knowl- 
edge. Wild  rice  is  now  one  of  their  staple  articles 
of  fond,  which  grows  abundantly  among  the  marshes 
of  the  west.  The  Chippewas  and  other  tribes  in  the 
vicinity  of  the  Great  Lakes,  subsist  at  certain  sea- 
sons to  a  great  extent  upon  the  white  fish,  which  is 
considered  as  being  superior  to  the  trout  or  salmon. 
Amoncr  the  Rocky  Mountains,  on  the  banks  of  rivers 
flowing  into  the  Pacific  Ocean,  there  are  tribes  who 


INDIANS   OF   NORTH   AMERICA.  205 

eat  nothing  but  fish,  and  look  upon'  everything  of  the 
fle.-ih  kind  with  superstitious  dread. 

There  is  a  great  difference  among  the  various  tribes 
of  Indians  in  regard  to  taste  and  choice  of  food.  The 
Chippewas  will  eat  almost  everything,  from  the  wild- 
cat and  wolf,  to  the  horse  and  dog,  which  the  Dela- 
wares  and  other  southern  Indians  would  rather  die  than 
touch.  The  Five  Nations  were  never  scrupulous  in 
their  selection  of  food.  Some  savages  cut  up  their  feath- 
erjd  game  and  boil  and  eat  it  without  any  other  pre- 
paration than  to  pluck  off  a  few  of  the  larger  feathers. 

It  has  been  said  of  the  Indians,  as  a  mass,  that  they 
were  accustomed  to  eat  human  flesh ;  in  short,  that 
they  were  cannibals.  This  charge  has  been  unsup- 
ported by  proof,  and  indeed,  all  the  light  obtained  on 
the  subject  seems  to  refute  rather  than  to  sustain  it. 
Cases  have  undoubtedly  occurred,  when,  pressed  by 
famine,  the  savage  has  killed  and  eaten  one  of  his  own 
race  ;  but  so  has  the  white  man  in  like  circumstances. 
A  remarkable  incident  has  been  furnished  by  Mr. 
Henry,  a  traveller  among  the  Indians,  which  will 
serve  to  give  us  some  information  on  the  subject,  tt 
is  a  belief  among  the  Indians,  that  a  person  who  has 
once  eatan  human  flesh,  will  never  be  satisfied  with 
any  other  food.  A  young  Indian,  belonging  to  a  tribe 
who  had  fled  from  their  home  on  account  of  famine, 
came  suddenly  into  that  part  of  the  country  where 
Mr.  Henrv  was.  His  appearance  is  described  as  ac- 
tually frightful ;  he  was  in  an  exhausted  and  starving 
state.  Fro-n  various  circumstances  which  were  con- 
nected with  his  arrival,  he  was  suspected  of  having 
eaten  human  flesh  to  appease  his  hunger,  and  this 
v.— 18 


206  INDIANS   OF    NORTH   AMERICA. 

was  afterwards  found  to  be  the  fact.  He  seemed  per- 
fectly indifferent  to  the  food  which  was  prepared  for 
him,  but  keeping  his  eyes  fixed  upon  some  children 
in  the  lodge,  frequently  exclaimed,  "  how  fat  they 
are !  "  His  behavior,  of  course,  excited  alarm,  and 
the  Indians,  apprehensive  that  he  would  find  some 
means  of  killing  and  eating  their  children,  determined 
to  put  him  to  death.  Without  informing  him  of  their 
resolution,  they  despatched  him  the  next  day  with  a 
single  stroke  of  the  axe.  It  is  a  remarkable  fact  that 
the  savage  tribes  of  North  America,  should  have  been 
thus  free  from  cannibalism,  while  it  is  well  known 
that  the  civilized  Mexicans  sacrificed  human  victims  by 
thousands  and  devoured  their  flesh,  not  only  in  cele- 
bration of  religious  rites,  but  also  as  a  delicious  treat. 
There  can  be  but  little  doubt  that  this  horrid  custom 
was  introduced  by  the  priests,  and  that  religious  fan- 
aticism subverted  the  natural  instincts  of  the  race 
against  the  practice. 

As  we  have  said,  the  Indians  in  early  days  had  no 
other  drink  than  water,  and  all  kinds  of  intoxicating 
beverages  were  wholly  unknown  to  them.  They 
were  not  slow,  however,  in  making  acquaintance  with 
spirituous  liquors,  introduced  by  the  whites.  These, 
which  they  called  fire-water,  became  the  bane  of  the 
race,  and  were  one  of  the  chief  instruments  by  which 
they  were  first  degraded,  and  then  swept  from  the 
earth.  Spirits  are  now  introduced  among  the  western 
tribes  by  the  unscrupulous  traders.  When  they  are 
once  under  the  influence  of  liquor,  they  lose  all  self- 
command,  and  have  rather  the  appearance  of  demons 
than  men.  Even  the  chiefs  give  themselves  up  to  the 


INDIANS    OF    NORTH    AMERICA.  207 

intoxicating  spell,  and  during  its  influence,  appear  to 
be  totally  bereft  of  their  reason.  The  women  are  not 
permitted  to  engage  in  these  revels  :  it  is  deemed  their 
province  to  remain  sober  and  take  care  of  their  drunk- 
en husbands.  When  they  see  that  these  are  becoming 
intoxicated,  they  prudently  conceal  their  knives,  toma- 
hawks, bows  and  arrows,  and  other  weapons,  so  that 
they  may  not  kill  each  other  in  their  brawls. 

EDUCATION. — The  children  were  left  almost  entire- 
ly to  form  their  character  under  the  influence  of  exam- 
ple and  experience.  Nothing  like  regular  training 
was  adopted.  They  were  never  chastised  with  blows 
lest  it  might  damp  their  spirit  and  substitute  slavish 
motives  for  that  love  of  liberty  which  their  parents 
desired  them  to  feel  in  its  fullest  extent.  When 
grown,  they  were  never  commanded  in  an  authorita- 
tive manner,  and  even  the  wishes  of  the  chiefs  were 
made  known  rather  in  the  form  of  persuasion  than 
imperative  injunction. 

Great  efforts  were  made  by  the  parents  to  inspire 
their  children  with  revenge  against  their  enemies,  and 
they  were  made  to  drink  the  blood  of  their  captives  to 
increase  this  feeling.  They  were  also  instructed  in 
the  traditions  of  their  fathers.  Great  respect  for  old 
age  was  inculcated,  and  the  advice  of  a  grandfather 
was  considered  like  the  words  of  an  oracle.  Obe- 
dience to  parents  is  obtained  by  appealing  to  the 
pride  and  ambition  of  the  children.  If  a  father  says, 
"  I  want  such  a  thing  done  ;  I  want  one  of  my  children 
to  run  upon  such  an  errand  ;  let  me  see  who  is  the 
good  child  that  will  do  it," — the  word  good  operates 
as  a  powerful  incentive,  and  the  children  generally 


SOS 


INDIANS    OF    NORTH    AMERICA. 


vie  with  each  other  in  fulfilling  the  wishes  of  the  pa- 
rent. Praise  always  follows  good  actions,  and  the 
ambition  of  the  boys  is  particularly  stimulated  to  ex- 
cel in  athletic  exercises,  and  in  every  daring  and  manly 
achievement.  Awkwardness,  ignorance,  and  coward- 
ice ate  made  the  theme  of  the  bitterest  ridicule. 

The  names  of  children  are  generally  given  after 
animals,  as  the  beaver,  otter,  rattlesnake,  black  fish  ; 
and  other  titles,  perhaps  significant  or  descriptive,  are 
bestowed  according  to  some  qualities  which  the  chil- 
dren are  fancied  to  possess.  In  after  life,  other  nan.?'' 
are  added,  having  allusion  to  remarkable  events. 


Indian  woman  and  child. 

DOMESTIC  LIFE. — In  civilized  society,  the  chief  in- 
terests of  life  lie  within  that  little  kingdom  which  is 


INDIANS    OF    NORTH    AMERICA.  209 

called  home.  But  with  the  savage,  the  larger  portion 
of  his  thoughts  and  feelings  are  bestowed  upon  objects 
beyond  the  precincts  of  the  domestic  circle.  War  and 
the  chase  absorb  the  souls  of  the  men,  and  out-door 
cares  occupy  a  considerable  share  of  the  attention 
of  the  women.  William  Wood,  whom  we  have  be- 
fore quoted,  thus  speaks  of  the  duties  of  the  New 
England  Indian  women  : 

"  An  other  work  is  their  planting  of  corne,  wherein 
they  exceede  our  English  husband-men,  keeping  it  so 
cleare  with  their  Clamme  shell-hooes,  as  if  it  were  a 
garden  rather  than  a  corne-field,  not  suffering  a  choak- 
ing  weede  to  advance  his  audacious  head  above  their 
infant  corne,  or  an  undermining  worme  to  spoile  his 
spumes.  Their  corne  being  ripe,  they  gather  it,  and 
dtying  it  hard  in  the  sunne,  conveigh  it  to  their 
barnes,  which  be  great  holes  digged  in  the  ground  in 
forme  of  a  brasse  pot,  seeled  with  rinds  of  trees, 
wherein  they  put  their  corne,  covering  it  from  the  in- 
quisitive search  of  their  gurmandizing  husbands,  who 
would  eate  up  both  their  allowed  portion,  and  re- 
served seede,  if  they  knew  where  to  finde  it.  But  our 
hogges  having  found  a  way  to  unhindge  their  barne 
doorcs,  and  robbe  their  garners,  they  are  glad  to  im- 
plore their  husbands  helpe  to  roule  the  bodies  of  trees 
over  their  holes,  to  prevent  those  pioners,  whose 
theeverie  they  as  much  hate  as  their  flesh. 

"  An  other  of  their  employments  is  their  summer 
processions  to  get  lobsters  for  their  husbands,  where- 
with they  baite  their  hookes  when  they  goe  a  fish- 
ing for  basse  or  codfish.  This  is  an  every  dayes 
walke,  be  the  weather  cold  or  hot,  the  waters  rough 
N  18* 


5210  INDIANS   OF   NORTH   AMERICA. 

or  calme,  they  must  dive  sometimes  over  he.id  and 
eares  for  a  lobster,  which  often  shakes  them  by 
their  hands  \vith  a  churlish  nippe,  and  bids  them 
adiew.  The  tide  being  spent,  they  trudge  home  two 
or  three  miles,  with  a  hundred  weight  of  lobsters  at 
their  backs,  and  if  none,  a  hundred  scoules  meete 
them  at  home,  and  a  hungry  belly  for  two  days  after. 
Their  husbands  having  caught  any  fish,  they  bring  it 
in  their  boates,  as  farre  as  they  can  by  water,  and 
there  leave  it ;  as  it  was  their  care  to  catch  it,  so  it 
must  be  their  wives  paines  to  fetch  it  home,  or  fast: 
which  done,  they  must  dresse  it  and  cooke  it,  dish  it, 
and  present  it,  see  it  eaten  over  their  shoulders;  and 
their  loggerships  having  filled  their  paunches,  their 
sweete  lullabies  scramble  for  the  scrappes. 

"  In  the  summer  these  Indian  women  when  lobsters 
be  in  their  plenty  and  prime,  they  drie  them  to  keepe 
(or  winter,  erecting  scaffolds  in  the  hot  sun-shine, 
making  fires  likewise  underneath  them,  by  whose 
smoake  the  flies  are  expelled,  till  the  substance  re- 
mains hard  and  drie.  In  this  manner  they  drie  basse 
and  other  fishes  without  salt,  cutting  them  very  thinne 
to  dry  suddainely,  before  the  flies  spoil  them,  or  the 
raine  moist  them,  having  a  speciall  rare  to  hang  them 
in  their  smoakie  houses,  in  the  night  and  dankish 
weather. 

"  In  summer  they  gather  flngges,  of  which  they 
make  matts  for  houses,  and  hempe  and  rushes,  with 
dying  stufTe  of  which  they  make  curious  baskets  with 
intermixed  colours  and  portractures  of  antique  Image- 
rie :  these  baskets  be  of  all  sizes  from  a  quart  to  a 
quarter,  in  which  they  carry  their  luggage.  In  winter 


INDIANS    OF   NORTH   AMERICA.  211 

time  they  are  their  husbands'  caterers,  trudging  to  the 
clamm  bankes  for  their  belly  timber,  and  their  por 
ters  to  lugge  home  their  venison,  which  their  lazi- 
nesse  exposes  to  the  woolves  till  they  impose  it  upon 
their  wives  shoulders.  They  likewise  sew  their  hus- 
bands shooes,  and  weave  coates  of  Turkic  feathers, 
besides  all  their  ordinary  household  drudgerie  which 
daily  lies  upon  them." 

Of  the  treatment  of  babes  the  writer  says  :  "  The 
young  Infant  being  greased  and  sooted,  wrapt  in  a 
beaver  skin,  bound  to  his  good  behaviour  with  his 
feete  upon  a  board  two  foote  long  and  one  foote  broade, 
his  face  exposed  to  all  nipping  weather ;  this  little 
Pappouse  travells  about  with  his  bare  footed  mother 
to  paddle  in  the  ice  Clamm  banks  after  three  or  foure 
dayes  of  age  have  sealed  his  pnsseboard  and  his  moth- 
ers recoverie.  For  their  carriage  it  is  very  civill, 
smiles  being  the  greatest  grace  of  their  mirth ;  their 
musick  is  lullabies  to  quiet  their  children,  who  gene- 
rally are  as  quiet  as  if  they  had  neither  spleene  or 
lungs.  To  hear  one  of  these  Indians  unseene,  a  good 
eare  might  easily  mistake  their  untaught  voyce  for 
the  warbling  of  a  well  tuned  instrument.  Such  com- 
mand have  they  of  their  voices." 

In  the  outset  of  Indian  life,  the  husband  usually  pro- 
vides the  wigwam  for  his  family  to  live  in,  together 
with  the  axes,  hoes,  and  implements  of  agriculture  ;  he 
builds  a  canoe,  and  makes  a  variety  of  bowls,  dishes 
and  other  utensils  for  culinary  purposes.  He  then 
proceeds  to  supply  his  family  with  food  and  clothing, 
which  he  procures  by  fishing,  hunting  arid  trapping. 
This  duty  is  constant,  and  sometimes  severe.  He 


212 


INDIANS    OF    NORTH    AMERICA. 


rises  very  early,  and  frequently  has  the  good  fortune 
to  return  to  his  wigwam  with  a  deer  or  wild  turkey 
for  breakfast. 

The  duty  of  the  wigwam  for  the  wife  is  very  tri- 
fling; there  is  no  scouring  of  paint,  nor  scrubbing  of 
floors.  A  single  kettle  over  the  fire,  or  a  cake  made 
of  meal,  in  the  ashes,  is  all  that  requires  her  attention 
in  the  cooking  department.  But  she  has  work  to  per- 
form in  the  field,  such  as  sowing,  reaping,  and  hoe- 
ing. After  the  harvest,  she  has  little  to  do,  except  to 
procure  firewood  and  cook  the  daily  food.  The  care 
of  the  children  does  not  impose  a  heavy  burden. 
During  infancy  they  remain  a  large  part  of  the  time 
strapped  to  the  cradle,  and  demand  little  attention. 


Lilian  cradle. 

When   farther  advanced,  their  clothing  is  slight,  and 
they  are  left  much  to  themselves. 

On  the  return  of  the  husband  from  a  journey,  on 
entering  the  house  he  says,  "  I  am  returned," — his 
wife  replies,  "  I  rejoice."  He  then  asks  after  the 
health  of  the  family,  and,  being  satisfied  on  this 
point,  says  nothing  of  himself  or  his  adventures  till 
the  evening,  when  he  tells  them  all  at  full  length  to 
his  neighbors  and  family. 

In  general,  the  intercourse  between  the  husband 
and  '.vife  is  of  a  kindly  nature.  She  is  proud  of  his 


INDIANS   OF   NORTH   AMERICA. 

achievements  in  war,  and  is  gratified  to  see  him  the 
object  of  attention  and  respect.  She  desires  also  to 
see  him  well  dressed,  and  he  has  a  similar  feeling 
with  respect  to  her.  If  she  is  sick,  he  takes  the  ut- 
most pains  to  procure  tnt-dicine  and  dainties  for  her. 
A  Delaware  has  been  known  to  travel  forty  miles  to 
obtain  some  cranberries  for  his  sick  wife  ;  and  in  a 
similar  case,  another  Indian  travelled  a  hundred  miles 
to  get  some  corn,  which,  at  the  time,  was  very  scarce. 
He  was  able  to  obtain  only  his  hat  full,  but  for  this  he 
parted  with  his  horse,  and  returned  on  foot. 

Hospitality  is  among  the  chief  virtues  of  the  In- 
dians ;  they  will  even  share  their  last  mouthful  with 
a  stranger  and  those  of  a  different  nation.  If  any  re- 
fuse to  partake  of  their  food  it  is  a  matter  of  offence. 
All  are  allowed  to  enter  any  lodge,  even  that  of  the 
chiefs,  when  they  are  hungry  and  take  what  they  can 
find  to  eat.  The  most  worthless  drone  is  not  an  ex- 
ception to  this  rule,  though  an  improvident  person, 
who  lives  upon  others,  is  branded  with  the  epithet  of 
poltroon  and  beggnr.  Chateaubriand  says  that  "  Hospi- 
tal ity  still  lingers  on  the  banks  of  the  Mississippi;  it  will 
accompany  the  advanced,  guard  of  settlers  down  the 
shores  of  the  Missouri,  be  driven  thence  to  the  neigh- 
borhood of  the  Columbia  river,  and  be  finally  drowned 
in  the  Pacific." 

MAKRIAGK. — Courtship  with  the  Indians  is  usually 
a  brief  and  simple  affair.  If  there  are  no  parents,  a 
man  makes  a  direct  proposition  to  a  woman  he  fan- 
cies, to  become  his  wife.  If  the  answer  is  favorable, 
she  usually  goes  to  live  with  him  immediately.  In 
some  cases,  the  admirer  goes  to  the  cabin  of  the  ob- 


214  INDIANS    OF    NORTH    AMERICA. 

ject  of  his  affection  and  regard,  and  sits  by  her  side 
If  she  suffers  this,  it  is  significant  of  her  assent,  and 
the  marriage  accordingly  follows.  In  most  cases, 
where  there  are  parents,  the  mother  of  the  lover 
conducts  the  negotiation,  generally  opening  it  with  a 
present  to  the  mother  of  the  girl,  with  a  leg  of  veni- 
son, or  a  piece  of  bear's  meat,  saying  that  the  animal 
was  killed  by  her  son.  If  the  proposal  thus  implied 
is  acceptable,  the  mother  of  the  girl  prepares  a  savo- 
ry dish,  perhaps  of  succotash,  and  carries  it  to  the 
mother  of  the  lover,  saying,  "  This  comes  from  my 
daughter's  field."  A  few  other  presents  are  usually 
exchanged;  intimacy  between  the  young  people  en- 
sues ;  the  man  raises  a  wigwam,  and,  being  supplied 
by  his  parents,  with  a  few  bowls  and  baskets,  an  axe, 
a  hoe,  and  a  kettle,  the  bride  and  bridegroom  take 
possession  of  their  new  residence,  and  live  as  man 
and  wife.  The  marriage  is  celebrated  by  no  particu- 
lar ceremony. 

The  customs  in  relation  to  courtship  vary  in  the 
different  tribes.  In  many  cases,  the  whole  affair  is 
managed  by  the  parents.  Divorce  is  allowed,  and 
frequently  practised.  If  the  husband  is  dissatisfied, 
he  may  put  away  the  wife,  and  she  may  leave  him 
when  she  pleases.  In  point  of  fact,  however,  repu- 
diation or  desertion,  without  serious  cause,  is  regard- 
ed as  disreputable,  and  thus  restraints  are  imposed 
xipon  improvident  and  causeless  separations.  Polyga 
my  is  allowed,  and  an  Indian  usually  has  as  many 
wives  as  he  is  able  to  maintain.  These,  trained  to 
their  lot,  generally  live  together  without  jealousy  or 
disagreement.  If,  indeed,  the  husband  pays  a  dis- 


INDIANS   OF   NORTH   AMERICA.  215 

proportionate  attention  to  one  wife,  the  neglected 
partner  will  sometimes  indicate  her  feelings  by  kick- 
ing his  dog,  or  spilling  his  food  on  the  ground.  In 
cases  of  separation,  the  children  are  divided  between 
the  parents.  When  it  chances  that  two  wives  quarrel, 
the  tongue,  teeth  and  nails  of  the  parties  are  often 
called  upon  to  aid  in  carrying  on  the  war.  In  these 
cases  the  husband  usually  sits  by  with  an  air  of  un- 
concern, smoking  his  pipe,  and  seeming  lost  in 
thoughts  about  something  else.  If  the  dispute  becomes 
serious,  he  rises  with  the  air  of  a  judge  and  separates 
the  combatants. 

ARTS  AND  MANUFACTURES. — The  utensils  were  few 
in  number,  and  simple  in  kind.  Their  dishes  and 
spoons  were  made  of  a  kind  of  box-wood,  and  also  of 
the  skulls  of  bisons.  They  manufactured  a  few  earth- 
en vessels,  and  made  bowls  of  the  knotty  excrescences 
of  the  maple  tree.  They  wove  very  neat  baskets  of 
osier  and  birch  bark.  Having  no  iron,  their  knives 
consisted  of  sharp  stones,  bones  or  shells.  They  also 
made  mortars  and  chisels  of  stone.  A  cockle  shell 
served  for  a  spoon,  and  a  gourd  for  a  water  jug. 
Among  many  tribes  the  only  utensil  used  for  boiling, 
was  a  piece  of  hard  wood,  hollowed  out  and  filled 
with  red  hot  stones,  till  the  process  was  accomplished. 

Their  spears  and  arrow-heads  were  made  of  hard 
stone,  and  fashioned  with  great  labor.  .  The  tomahawk 
was  made  of  a  softer  kind  of  rock.  The  wooden  part 
of  the  arrow  was  a  straight  stick  cut  from  an  elder- 
bush,  or  other  light  wood.  The  bow-string  was  made 
of  the  sinews  of  deer,  or  the  Indian  hemp.  The  bow 
wus  usually  about  six  feet  in  length.  The  stones 
most  used  for  arrow-heads  were  quartz  and  flint, 


216  INDIANS   OF   NORTH   AMERICA. 

which  were  preferred  on  account  of  the  facility  of  sha- 
ping them,  the  keenness  of  the  points  and  edges, 


Tdodern  tomaJiarcJc. 

which  they  readily  present  under  the  blows  of  a  skil- 
ful manufacturer,  as  well  as  their  superior  hardness 
and  imperishable  nntnre.  Multitudes  of  specimens 
still  exist,  which  show  the  various  forms  and  sizes  to 
which  the  red  man  reduced  stones  of  these  kinds; 
and  they  excite  our  admiration,  by  their  perfect  slate 
of  preservation,  as  well  as  by  the  skilfuhiess  of  their 
manufacture. 

Other  stones,  however,  were  not  unfrequently  use^l : 
and  a  collection  will  present  a  considerable  variety  of 
materials,  as  well  as  of  sizes,  shapes  and  colors.  Hard 
sand-stone,  trap,  or  grey  wacke,  jasper,  and  chalcedony, 
appear  occasionally ;  some  almost  transparent.  These 
arrow-heads  were  fastened  to  the  shaft,  by  inserting 
the  butt  into  the  split  end,  and  tying  round  it  a  string 
of  deer's  sinews.  A  groove  or  depression  is  commonly 
observable  in  the  stone,  designed  to  receive  the  string. 

The  Indians  knew  nothing  °f  navigation,  beyond 
the  construction  and  uses  of  canoes.  These  were  of 
bark,  and  more  frequently  of  the  trunk  of  some  soft- 
wooded  tree.  The  largest  would  hold  fifty .  mm, 
though  many  smaller  ones  svere  used.  To  aid  them 


INDIANS   OF   NORTH   AMERICA.  217 

in  bringing  down  a  tree,  fire  was  applied  around  the 
trunk,  and  it  was  afterwards  burnt  off  at  the  desired 


Birch-bark  boat. 

length.  The  bark  was  then  stripped  off,  and  the  log 
was  hollowed  out  by  means  of  instruments  and  gentle 
fires.  This  was  all  the  process  necessary  to  form  a 
canoe.  Some  northern  tribes  construct  their  canoes 
of  bark,  in  the  same  manner  as  they  are  made  at 
present  by  the  Chippewas  and  others. 

Wampum  was  an  ornament  manufactured  from  va- 
rious colored  shells ;  they  filed  these  into  bits,  and  per- 
forated them,  giving  them  the  shape  of  pieces  of  broken 
pipe-stems ;  they  strung  them  on  deers'  sinews,  and 
wore  them  on  their  necks,  or  wove  them  into  belts. 
They  were  also  used  to  record  treaties  and  other  pub- 
lic matters.  On  the  Atlantic  coast,  wampum  was 
highly  valued  as  a  species  of  money,  instead  of  coins, 
of  which  they  had  no  knowledge.  So  many  strings, 
or  so  many  hands'  breadths,  were  the  fixed  value  of  a 
horse,  a  gun,  or  a  robe.  In  treaties  the  wampum 
was  passed  as  a  pledge  of  friendship,  and  from  time 
immemorial  it  was  sent  to  hostile  tribes  as  a  messinger 
of  peace.  The  fur  traders  at  the  West  have  manufac- 
tured an  imitation  of  the  Indian  wampum,  so  closely 
resembling  it,  and  it  is  sold  at  so  low  a  price,  that  the 
value  and  meaning  of  the  original  article  are  destroyed, 
v.— 19 


218  INDIANS   OF   NORTH   AMERICA. 

and  a  string  of  the  genuine  manufacture  is  now  rarely 
to  be  found  in  any  part  of  the  country. 

Among  the  Indians,  there  were  a  class  of  persons 
who  professed  to  have  remarkable  power  in  the  cure 
of  diseases.  Most  of  these  were  impostors,  who  per- 
formed certain  incantations,  serving  no  other  purpose 
than  to  delude  the  patients,  and  enable  the  quack 
to  extort  from  them  an  exorbitant  fee.  They 
were  generally  persons  who  held  a  sort  of  sacer- 
dotal character,  and  were  called  medicine-men.  Of 
these,  we  shall  give  a  more  particular  account  here- 
after. There  was  another  class,  who  might  with  pro- 
priety be  called  doctors,  and  who  really  possessed 
considerable  knowledge  of  the  medicinal  virtues  of 
plants.  They  had  antidotes  for  the  bites  of  venom- 
ous reptiles,  and  could  cure  many  of  the  diseases 
common  among  the  savages.  In  surgery  they  had 
also  no  small  degree  of  skill ;  their  practice,  however, 
was  often  blended  with  gross  quackery,  and  in  most 
cases  of  serious  disease,  superstitious  juggles  constitu- 
ted a  great  part  of  the  treatment.  Frequently  a  med- 
icine would  be  prepared  with  strange  incantations, 
and  SAvallowed  by  the  physican  in  order  to  cure  the 
patient.  Mr.  Heckewelder  te«lls  us  that  he  once  saw  an 
emetic  given  to  a  Delaware  who  was  poisoned,  which 
consisted  of  a  piece  of  burnt  raccoon  skin,  dry  pounded 
beans  and  gunpowder.  It  may  well  be  believed  that 
such  a  dose  procured  the  vomiting  that  was  desired. 

The  juggler  who  professes  to  cure  diseases  Avhich 
spring  from  witchcraft,  having  received  an  ample  fee, 
such  as  a  horse,  or  a  rifle-,  usually  commences  opera- 
tions by  dressing  himself  in  a  frightful  manner.  He 


INDIANS    OF   NORTH   AMERICA.  219 

then  approaches  his  patient  with  a  variety  of  strange 
contortions  and  grotesque  gestures.  He  breathes  on 
him;  blows  in  his  mouth;  squirts  medicine  in  his 
nose  and  mouth;  rattles  beans,  or  pebbles  in  a  dry 
gourd,  and  continues  to  make  horrid  gesticulations  to 
frighten  away  the  disease  ;  he  then  leaves  the  patient 
to  await  the  issue  of  the  experiment. 

There  are  also  jugglers  who  performed  various 
feats  of  legerdemain.  Mr.  Flint  tells  us  that  "  these 
undoubtedly  possess  a  rigidity  of  muscle,  a  callousness 
of  nerve,  and  a  contempt  of  pain  and  wounds,  that 
enable  them  to  achieve  swallowing  fire,  putting  knives 
and  swords  down  their  throats,  and  such  like  exploits 
tvith  great  success." 

The  picture  writings  that  are  often  found  on  the 
rocks  in  various  parts  of  the  country,  consist  of  the 
symbolic  names  of  Indians  who  have  visited  these 
places.  Catlin  remarks  that  from  the  feeling  of  vanity 
everywhere  belonging  to  man,  has  proceeded  the  habit 
of  recording  their  names  or  symbols,  such  as  birds, 
beasts,  or  reptiles,  by  which  every  family  and  each 
individual  is  known.  The  paintings  on  their  robes, 
being  also  a  species  of  hieroglyphic  writing,  were  in 
many  cases  very  curious,  and  generally  represented  the 
exploits  of  their  military  lives  which  they  are  always 
anxious  to  record.  The  same  system  was  to  some 
extent  adopted  for  more  practical  purposes.  Thatcher- 
says  that  on  a  piece  of  bark,  or  on  a  large  tree,  with 
the  bark  taken  off  for  the  purpose,  by  the  side  of  a 
path,  they  can,  and  do  give  every  necessary  informa- 
tion to  those  who  travel  the  same  way.  They  will 
in  this  manner  let  them  know  that  they  were  a  war 


220  INDIANS   OF   NORTH  AMERICA. 

party  of  so  many  men,  from  such  a  place,  of  such  a 
nation,  and  of  such  a  tribe ;  how  many  of  each  tribe 
were  in  the  party ;  to  which  tribe  the  chief  or  captain 
belonged ;  in  what  direction  they  proceeded  to  meet 
the  enemy ;  how  many  days  they  were  out,  and  how 
many  returning ;  what  number  of  the  enemy  they  had 
killed ;  how  many  prisoners  they  had  brought ;  how 
many  scalps  they  had  taken ;  whether  they  had  lost 
any  of  their  party,  and  how  many;  what  enemies 
they  had  met  with,  and  how  many  they  consisted  of: 
of  what  nation  or  tribe  their  captain  was,  &c., — al] 
which  is  perfectly  well  understood  by  them  at  a  single 
glance.  They  will  describe  a  chase  in  the  same  style. 
All  the  tribes  adopt  this  practice  to  some  extent; 
and  the  principle  upon  which  it  is  founded,  is  so  natural 
and  so  plain,  that  the  Delawares  will  read  the  draw- 
ings of  the  Chippewas,  Shawanees,  Wyandots,  or  Six 
Nations,  with  nearly  as  much  ease  as  they  decipher 
those  of  their  own  tribe. 

Mr.  Tanner,  who  lived  some  time  among  the  Indi- 
ans, and  was  adopted  by  one  of  the  tribes,  furnishes 
the  following  anecdote.  He  was  traversing  the  \\  oods 
in  the  early  spring,  on  his  way  towards  Red  River, 
when  one  morning  he  noticed  on  the  borders  of  a 
stream,  a  little  stick  standing  in  the  bank,  and  a  piece 
of  birch  bark  attached  to  the  top  of  it.  On  examina- 
tion, he  found  the  mark  of  a  rattlesnake  with  a  knife, 
the  handle  touching  the  snake,  and  the  point  sticking 
into  a  bear  with  a  drooping  head.  Near  the  snake  also 
was  the  mark  of  a  beaver,  with  one  of  its  legs  touch- 
ing the  snake.  This  had  been  left  for  Mr.  Tanner's 
information  by  his  foster  brother,  Wa-no-gou-a-biew ; 


INDIANS   OF   NORTH  AMERICA. 


221 


and  he  gathered  from  it,  that  the  latter,  whose  badge 
was  a  rattlesnake,  and  whose  mother's  badge  was  a 
beaver,  had  killed  a  man  whose  badge  was  the  bear. 
That  he  was  dead  and  not  wounded  merely,  was  indi- 
cated by  the  position  of  the  head.  The  event  proved 
his  suppositions  to  be  entirely  correct. 


Indian  song. 

Mr.  Catlin  furnishes  us  with  a  copy  of  an  Indian 
song,  which  was  drawn  on  birch  bark,  and  sung  by 
the  Chippewas,  previous  to  a  hunt.  The  song  is  com- 
posed, and  the  drawing  made  by  a  medicine-man, 
or  priest,  and  it  is  sung  by  him  while  the  hunters 
dance  around,  and  join  in  the  chorus.  The  purpose 
of  this  incantation,  is  to  conciliate  the  spirits  that  pre- 
side over  the  animals,  and  thus  ensure  to  the  hunting 
party  a  successful  expedition.  The  figures  drawn  on 
the  bark,  and  which  constitute  the  song,  are  symboli- 
cal representations  of  ideas,  but  are  generally  under- 
stood only  by  the  jugglers  who  compose  them. 
19* 


222 


INDIANS    OF    NORTH    AMERICA. 


AGRICULTURE. — The  cultivation  of  the  Indians  was 
scanty  and  inartificial.  They  planted  corn,  squashes, 
beans  and  pumpkins,  which  were  generally  permitted 
to  grow  to  maturity  with  little  or  no  care,  though  it  is 
said  that  the  New  England  Indians  were  better  hus- 
bandmen. The  chief  tools  for  breaking  the  soil,  were 
shells  and  bones.  In  more  modern  times,  the  agricul- 
tural arts  and  implements  of  the  whites  have  been 
adopted  to  some  extent. 


Indians,  disguised  as  rrolves.  attacking  buffaloes. 

HUNTING. — However  the  Indian  may  be  disposed 
to  indolence,  in  the  chase  he  is  roused  to  the  utmost 
activity.  He  attacks  the  bear,  the  deer  and  various 
other  wild  animals.  In  ancient  times  these  were 
killed  with  the  bow  and  arrow,  and  also  caught  in  traps. 
Raccoons,  partridges,  beavers,  wild  turkies  and  other 


INDIANS    OF    NORTH    AMERICA. 


223 


yvins  were  taken  in  great  numbers.  In  the  rivers, 
.•salmon  and  other  fish  were  struck  with  spears;  they 
•ilso  used  small  nets,  and  hooks  made  of  fish  bones. 

T<ie  modes  of  hunting  and  fishing  at  the  present 
•day,  are  modified  by  the  introduction  of  fire-arms,  steel 
traps,  &c.  The  hunters  pursue  the  buffalo  on  horse- 
back, bringing  them  down  either  with  the  bullet,  or 
the  arrow.  They  practise  various  devices  to  deceive 
these  animals,  sometimes  driving  them  over  a  preci- 
pice where  they  are  dashed  in  pieces ;  and  sometimes 
stealing  upon  them  dressed  in  buffalo  robes,  or  the 


skins  of  the  prairie  wolf.  They  often  set  the  prairies 
on  fire  in  a  circle ;  this  encloses  the  deer  and  other 
game,  and  as  the  flames  advance,  these  are  driven  to- 
gether and  shot  down  in  large  numbers.  The  ardor 
of  the  hunters  in  the  pursuit  of  game,  seems  to  render 


224  INDIANS   OF   NOETH   AMERICA. 

them  insensible  for  the  time,  to  everything  but  the 
immediate  object  in  view. 


War  club. 

WAR. — A  love  of  war  was  the  predominant  passion 
throughout  the  savage  tribes  of  North  America.  Their 
martial  spirit  was  kept  alive,  as  well  by  the  necessity  of 
defence,  as  the  desire  of  revenge,  and  the  love  of  stir- 
ring excitement.  When  roused  from  his  accustomed 
lethargy,  by  the  war-whoop,  the  Indian  seemed  to  be 
transformed  into  another  being.  His  slothful  facul- 
ties were  at  once  stimulated  to  the  highest  pitch.  His 
courage,  his  sagacity,  his  ingenuity,  were  all  called  into 
requisition,  to  circumvent  and  overcome  his  foe. 

In  general  it  was  the  custom  of  the  tribes  to  issue 
a  formal  declaration  of  war,  and  to  make  it  known  to 
me  adverse  party.  The  setting  out  of  the  warriors  is 
preceded  by  various  ceremonies.  A  council  is  held, 
fastings  are  observed,  and  dancing  is  practised.  As 
the  party  leave  the  village,  they  sing  their  war  songs  ; 
these  usually  consist  of  boastful  defiance  of  the  ene- 
my, with  a  plaintive  farewell  to  friends  left  behind, 


INDIANS    OF    NORTH   AMERICA.  225 

and  petitions  to  the  Great  Spirit  to  watch  over  the 
women  of  the  warriors.  The  following  is  a  specimen 
of  a  Chippewa  war-song : 

Do  not — do  not  weep  for  me, 
Loved  woman,  should  I  die— 
For  yourselves  alone  should  you  weep. 
Poor  are  ye  all,  and  to  be  pitied. 
Ye  women  !  ye  are  to  be  pitied ! 

I  seek,  I  seek  our  fallen  relations  ; 

I  go  to  revenge — revenge  the  slain  j 

Our  relations,  fallen  and  slain. 

And  our  foes — our  foes,  they  shall  lie, 

Like  them — like  them  they  shall  lie. 

I  go — I  go,  to  lay  them  low — to  lay  them  low ! 

Their  cautions  as  they  approach  the  enemy's  coun- 
try evince  great  cunning.  A  large  war  party,  in  or- 
der to  deceive  the  foe,  will  often  walk  in  one,  two,  or 
three  rows,  each  man  lifting  his  feet  high,  so  as  not 
to  bear  down  the  grass — the  largest  footed  man  of  the 
party  walking  behind,  to  cover  up  the  track  of  the 
others.  Sometimes  they  place  the  hoofs  of  buffaloes 
or  bear's  paws  on  their  feet,  walking  round  and  round 
the  woods  and  imitating  the  windings  of  those  ani- 
mals. On  arriving  near  the  place,  or  party  to  be  at- 
tacked, the  assailants  place  themselves  on  each  side 
of  the  path,  near  enough  to  each  other  to  hear  the 
signal ;  this  is  frequently  an  imitation  of  the  cry  of 
some  bird,  or  beast  that  inhabits  that  vicinity,  or  per- 
haps a  whistle;  They  are  wonderful  mimics,  and 
can  imitate,  with  surprising  exactness,  the  howl  of  the 
wolf,  the  neighing  of  the  wild  horse,  the  chipping  of 
the  squirrel,  or  the  hoot  of  the  owl. 
o 


INDIANS    OF   NORTH   AMERICA. 

When,  after  all  this  stratagem,  the  opposing  par- 
ties discover  one  another,  the  war  cry  is  sounded,  and 
each  warrior  seeks  for  some  place  of  concealment, 
from  which  he  may  use  his  deadly  weapons.  The 
gun,  bow  and  arrow,  the  javelin,  and  the  tomahawk, 
are  all  employed,  dealing  around  death  and  destruc- 
tion. They  pursue  each  other  from  one  ambush  to 
another,  both  parties  striving  to  save  their  wounded  and 
dying  from  the  scalping  knife  of  the  foe.  The  Indian 
seldom  comes  to  a  general  engagement.  He  always 
carries  on  a  concealed  fight,  now  lying  flat  on  the 
ground,  now  firing  from  behind  trees  and  rocks,  and 
now  springing  away  to  some  different  location.  They 
continue  their  desperate  warfare  till  victory  declares 
itself,  and  the  defeated  party  retreat. 


Scalping  knife  and  sheath. 

Scalping,  the  most  important  part  of  an  Indian's 
campaign,  is  thus  performed.  The  victorious  party 
seizes  the  head  of  his  dead  or  dying  foe,  and  placing 
his  foot  on  the  neck,  he  twists  one  hand  in  the  lock 
of  hair  on  the  top  of  the  head,  while,  with  the  other, 
he  draws  his  knife  dexterously  round  in  a  circle,  and 
strips  ofF  the  skin.  This,  called  the  scalp,  is  after- 
wards dried,  and  strung  upon  a  hoop  or  pole,  to  be 
preserved  as  a  trophy  of  victory.  The  number  of 


INDIANS   OF   NORTH   AMERICA.  227 

these  is  always  made  known  as  they  approach  their 
village,  by  the  scalp  yell  of  the  returning  warriors. 
It  is  different  from  the  alarm-whoop,  and  consists  of 
the  sounds  aw  oh,  successively  uttered,  the  last  note 
being  an  octave  higher,  and  prolonged  into  a  con- 
tinued cry.  The  alarm-whoop  always  betokens  dan- 
ger. It  is  a  very  rapid  utterance  of  two  notes,  the 
last  being  a  little  higher  than  the  first.  Wild  animals 
show  the  greatest  terror  at  the  sound  of  the  different 
war-whoops,  prancing  about  in  all  directions,  snorting 
atul  plunging  through  the  thickets,  and  over  the 
plains. 

There  is  nothing  in  the  Indian  manners  more  bar- 
barous than  their  treatment  of  prisoners.  These  are 
frequently  put  to  the  torture,  and  made  to  endure 
every  species  of  suffering  that  burning,  cutting,  and 
maiming  can  inflict.  The  fortitude  with  which  the 
Indian  withstands  these  trials,  seems  beyond  the 
power  of  humanity.  When  bleeding  with  wounds,  or 
encompassed  with  flames,  he  will  taunt  the  enemy, 
and  boast  of  the  injuries  he  had  inflicted  upon  them. 
The  women  and  children  attend  these  spectacles  and 
seem  to  share  in  the  horrid  joy  which  they  elicit. 
Young  warriors  are  not  unfrequently  adopted  by  their 
captors,  being  taken  into  some  family  in  place  of  a 
son  who  had  been  lost.  White  persons  have  occa- 
sionally been  received  among  the  Indians,  in  a  simi- 
lar manner.  The  Five  Nations  were  accustomed  to  re« 
ceive  conquered  tribes  as  part  of  the  nation,  by  which 
means  their  strength  and  numbers  were  greatly  in- 
creased. 

In  assailing  the  white?,  the  Indians  have  always 


228  INDIANS   OF    NORTH   AMERICA. 

relied  much  on  ambush  and  surprise.  They  general 
ly  commence  the  attack  just  before  day-break,  when 
they  suppose  the  enemy  to  be  in  the  soundest  repose. 
They  creep  forward  in  silence,  winding  their  way  like 
serpents,  through  woods  and  thickets,  and,  at  a  signal 
from  their  war  chief,  start  up  with  horrid  yells,  and 
pour  a  cloud  of  arrows  upon  the  foe.  Taking  advan- 
tage of  the  confusion  thus  produced,  they  rush  for- 
ward with  their  clubs  and  tomahawks. 

"  The  wars  of  the  red  men,"  says  Bancroft,  "  are 
terrible,  but  not  from  their  numbers ;  for  on  any  one 
expedition,  they  rarely  exceeded  forty  men  ;  it  was  the 
parties  of  six  or  seven  that  were  most  to  be  dreaded. 
Skill  consisted  in  surprising  the  enemy.  They  fol- 
low his  trail  to  kill  him  when  he  sleeps ;  or  they  lie  in 
ambush  near  a  village,  and  watch  for  an  opportunity  of 
suddenly  surprising  an  individual,  or  it  may  be  a  wo- 
man and  her  children ;  and  with  three  strokes  to  each, 
the  scalps  of  the  victims  being  suddenly  taken  off,  the 
brave  flies  back  with  his  companions,  to  hang  the  tro- 
phies in  his  cabin,  to  go  from  village  to  village,  in  ex- 
ulting procession,  to  hear  orators  recount  his  deeds  to 
the  elders  and  the  chief  people,  and  by  the  number  of 
scalps  taken  by  his  own  hand,  to  gain  the  high  war 
titles  of  honor.  Nay,  war  parties  of  but  two  or  three 
were  not  uncommon.  Clad  in  skins,  with  a  supply  of 
red  paint,  a  bow  and  quiver  of  arrows,  they  would 
roam  through  the  wide  forests  as  a  bark  would  over 
the  ocean  ;  for  days  and  weeks  they  would  hang  on 
the  skirts  of  their  enemy,  waiting  the  moment  for 
striking  a  blow.  From  the  heart  of  the  Five  Nations, 
two  young  warriors  would  thread  the  wilderness  of 


INDIANS   OF   NORTH   AMERICA. 


229 


the  south ;  would  go  through  the  glades  of  Pennsylva- 
nia, the  valleys  of  Western  Virginia,  and  steal  within 
the  mountain  fastnesses  of  the  Cherokees.  There 
they  would  hide  themselves  in  the  clefts  of  the  rocks, 
and  change  their  place  of  concealment,  till,  provided 
with  scalps  enough  to  astonish  their  village,  they 
would  bound  over  the  ledges  and  hurry  home.  It 
was  the  danger  of  such  inroads  that,  in  time  of  war, 
made  every  English  family  on  the  frontier  insecure." 
When  a  party  of  warriors  had  returned  victorious, 
celebrations  followed,  in  which  dancing,  feasting,  and 
the  torture  of  the  captive,  held  a  conspicuous  part.  The 
scalp-dance  among  the  Sioux  is  performed  at  night 


Scalp  dance. 

by  the  light  of  torches,  and  is  continued  for  fifteen 
successive  nights.     In  these,  as  in  other  exhibitions, 
v.— 20 


230 


INDIANS    OF   NORTH   AMERICA. 


the  warriors  are  exceedingly  boastful  of  their  exploits, 
while  they  brandish  their  weapons,  and  represent  in 
pantomime,  their  deeds  in  battle.  A  number  of  young 
women  are  placed  in  the  centre  of  the  ring  to  hold  up 
the  scalps,  while  the  warriors  dance  around  in  a  circle, 
all  the  time  flourishing  their  war-clubs,  jumping  and 
barking  and  yelping  in  a  most  frightful  manner.  It 
would  seem  to  the  spectator,  that  they  were  actually 
hewing  each  other  in  pieces.  "  During  these  frantic 
leaps  and  thrusts,"  says  Catlin,  "  every  man  distorts 
his  face  to  the  umost,  darting  about  his  glaring  eye- 
balls, and  snapping  his  teeth,  as  if  he  were  in  the  heat 
of  battle  !  No  description,  that  can  be  written,  could 
ever  convey  more  than  a  feeble  outline  of  the  fright- 
ful effect  of  these  scenes,  enacted  in  the  dead  and  dark- 
ness of  night,  under  the  glaring  light  of  their  dazzling 
flambeaus ;  nor  could  all  the  years  allotted  to  mortal 
man,  in  the  least  obliterate  or  deface,  the  vivid  im- 
press that  one  scene  of  this  kind  would  leave  upon 
his  memory." 


The  large  pipe  called  the  calumet,  or  pipe  of  peace, 
was  used  to  express  a  pledge  of  faith  between  the  parties 


INDIANS    OF   NORTH   AMERICA.  231 

who  joined  in  smoking  it.  At  a  grave  council  of 
statesmen,  it  was  solemnly  smoked,  a  whiff  or  two 
being  taken  by  one  and  then  by  another,  as  a  ratifica- 
tion of  the  peace  between  the  parties  concerned.  When 
a  party  of  strangers  come  to  an  Indian  village,  the 
pipe  is  brought  and  filled  with  tobacco  and  lighted.  It 
is  first  smoked  by  the  chief  man  of  the  place,  and  then 
handed  to  the  chief  of  the  strangers.  If  he  receives 
it,  and  smokes  in  return,  it  is  regarded  as  significant 
of  amity.  If  he  refuses  the  pipe,  it  is  a  token  of  hos- 
tility. The  practice  of  smoking  was  general  among 
the  ancient  Indians,  and  it  continues  to  this  day.  The 
calumet  is  now,  as  formerly,  the  emblem  of  peace. 
The  head  or  bowl  was  made  of  stone,  and  finely 
polished.  The  stem  was  two  and  a  half  feet  long, 
made  of  reed  or  cane,  and  adorned  with  feathers  of 
various  brilliant  colors,  interlaced  with  locks  of  female 
hair.  - 

GOVERNMENT. — The  Indian  tribes  were  not  only 
without  written  law,  but  without  a  formal  code  ex- 
pressed in  language.  Liberty  was  the  great  passion 
of  the  savage,  and  he  hated  nothing  so  much  as  re- 
straint. Whatever  government  there  was,  was  that 
of  usage  and  opinion.  There  was  no  commerce,  no 
coin,  no  promissary  notes,  no  persons  employed  on  hire, 
and  in  short,  no  contracts.  Exchanges  were  but  a 
reciprocity  of  gifts.  Prisons,  lawyers,  and  sheriffs, 
were  unknown ;  each  man  was  therefore  his  own  pro- 
secutor. In  case  of  death  by  violence,  it  was  deemed 
the  duty  of  the  kindred  to  seek  retaliation.  "  They 
would  go,"  says  Adair,  "  a  thousand  miles  for  the  pur- 
pose of  revenge ;  over  hills  and  mountains ;  through 


232  INDIANS   OF   NORTH   AMERICA. 

large  caves  and  swamps,  full  of  grape-vines  and  bri- 
ers ;  over  broad  lakes,  rapid  rivers,  and  deep  creeks, 
and  all  the  time  endangered  by  poisonous  snakes,  ex- 
posed to  the  extremities  of  heat  and  cold,  to  hunger  and 
thirst."  This  necessity  of  retaliation  often  involved 
families,  and  even  whole  tribes  in  strife  for  a  series  of 
years. 

The  tribe  was  but  a  union  of  families,  and  in  gen- 
eral, the  head  of  the  family  was  the  chief.  The 
succession  depended  on  birth,  and  was  inherited 
through  the  female  line.  This  rule  of  descent,  how- 
ever, was  often  modified,. and  sometimes  disregarded. 
A  chief  was  occasionally  forced  to  surrender  his  au- 
thority, and  sometimes  an  individual  became  the  ruler, 
through  the  gradual  influence  of  opinion,  without  any 
formal  act  of  election,  or  even  any  avowed  recognition 
of  his  authority.  The  Indian  chief  had  no  symbols 
of  supremacy,  and  no  guard  to  enforce  his  decrees. 
His  power  depended  upon  his  personal  character,  and 
his  authority  existed  only  in  the  current  of  opinion 
around  him. 

There  have  been  chiefs  who  seem  to  rule  with  des- 
potic sway,  while  others  are  possessed  of  little  autho- 
rity. No  measures  were  ever  undertaken  but  with 
the  assent  of  the  people.  They  held  frequent  coun- 
cils for  deliberation,  in  which  the  eloquent  and  brave 
acquired  an  ascendancy.  They  seem  to  delight  in  as- 
sembling together,  and  listening  to  messengers  from 
abroad.  "  Seated  in  semicircles  on  the  ground,  in 
double  or  triple,  rows,  with  the  knees  almost  meeting 
the  face — the  painted  and  tattooed  chiefs,  adorned 
with  skins  and  plumes,  with  the  beaks  of  the  red-bird, 


INDIANS    OF    NOKTH    AMERICA.  233 

or  the  claws  of  the  bear  ;  each  listener  perhaps  with  a 
pipe  in  his  mouth,  and  preserving  deep  silence, — they 
would  give  solemn  attention  to  the  speaker,  who,  with 
great  action  and  energy  of  language,  delivered  his  mes- 
sage ;  and  if  his  eloquence  pleased,  they  esteemed  him 
as  a  god.  Decorum  was  never  broken ;  there  were 
never  two  speakers  struggling  to  anticipate  each  other ; 
they  did  not  express  their  spleen  by  blows ;  they  re- 
strained passionate  invective ;  the  debate  was  never  dis- 
turbed by  an  uproar;  questions  of  order  were  unknown." 
"  After  all,"  says  Flint,  "  that  which  has  struck  us, 
in  contemplating  the  Indians,  with  the  most  astonish- 
ment and  admiration,  is  the  invisible,  but  universal 
energy  of  the  operation  and  influence  of  an  inexplica- 
ble law,  which  has,  when  it  operates,  a  more  certain 
and  controlling  power,  than  all  the  municipal  and  writ- 
ten laws  of  the  whites  united.  There  is  despotic  rule 
without  any  hereditary  or  elected  chief.  There  are 
chiefs  with  great  power,  who  cannot  tell  when,  or  how 
they  became  such.  There  is  perfect  unanimity  in 
a  question  involving  the  existence  of  a  tribe,  where 
every  member  belonged  to  the  wild  and  fierce  demo- 
cracy of  nature,  and  could  dissent  without  giving  a 
reason.  A  case  occurs,  where  it  is  prescribed  by  cus- 
tom, that  an  individual  should  be  punished  by  death. 
Esroped  far  from  the  control  of  his  tribe,  and  as  free 
as  the  winds,  this  invisible  tie  is  about  him ;  and  he 
returns  and  surrenders  himself  to  justice.  His  ac- 
counts are  not  settled  and  he  is  in  debt ;  he  requests 
delay  till  he  shall  have  accomplished  his  summer's 
hunt.  He  finishes  it,  pays  his  debt,  and  dies  whh  a 
constancy  which  has  always  been,  in  all  views  of  the 
Indian  character,  the  theme  of  admiration." 
20* 


234  INDIANS    OF    NORTH   AMERICA. 

The  chiefs  of  the  southern  tribes  were  more  abso- 
lute in  their  authority  than  those  of  the  northern. 
Powhatan,  who  was  the  ruler  over  thirty  confederated 
tribes  in  Virginia,  had  somewhat  the  state  and  bearing 
of  a  monarch.  He  had  four  places  of  residence,  at 
each  of  which,  he  had  a  house  made  of  poles  and  bush- 
es, about  a  hundred  feet  in  length.  He  had  many  wives 
and  numerous  attendants,  and  a  body  guard  of  forty 
of  his  stoutest  warriors.  His  summer  residence,  called 
Orapakes,  was  fifty  yards  in  length, — some  of  his 
wives  generally  attended  him.  When  he  lay  down, 
one  .sat  at  his  feet  and  another  at  his  head.  When 
he  dined  or  supped,  one  of  them,  both  before  and 
after  the  meal,  brought  him  a  wooden  platter  full  of 
water  to  wash  his  hands ;  and  a  second  a  bunch  of 
feathers  to  serve  the  purpose  of  a  towel,  which,  after 
being  used,  were  dried  to  be  used  again.  When  he 
was  weary  of  these  women,  he  gave  them  away  to 
his  best  warriors. 

AMUSEMENTS. — The  ancient  Indians  appear  to  have 
had  few  amusements  separate  from  war  and  the  chase, 
and  the  rites  and  ceremonies  connected  with  religion. 
The  greater  part  of  their  time  was  spent  either  in  in- 
dolent repose,  like  that  of  wild  animals  when  gorged 
with  food,  or  in  the  stormy  excitement  of  religion,  hunt- 
ing and  war.  They  have  numerous  dances,  most  of 
which  were  in  some  way  connected  with  leligiou?  ct- 
servances.  These  are  preserved  till  the  present  day, 
and  seem  to  afford  a  large  share  of  the  recreation  of 
the  people.  These  vary  in  different  tribes,  but  most 
of  them  have  Avar  dances,  in  which  the  various  feats 
of  the  campaign  are  represented  in  pantomime, — the 


INDIANS    OF    NORTH   AMERICA.  235 

scalp  dance,  the  war  dance,  dog  dance,  &c.  In  these 
the  aged  council  chiefs  beat  the  drums,  and  the  young 
warriors  dance  with  great  vehemence,  heating  the 
ground  with  their  feet.  They  pursue  the  business 
with  a  vigor,  which  causes  the  perspiration  to  pour 
from  their  bodies.  Each  dance  has  its  particular 
tune,  which  is  very  monotonous,  consisting  only  of 
three  or  four  notes. 

Smoking  tobacco  in  long  pipes  has  ever  been  a  fa- 
vorite recreation  among  the  Indians,  and  in  early 
times  occupied  the  place  of  exciting  beverages. 
They  have  various  modes  of  gambling,  to  which  they 
are  greatly  addicted.  When  engaged  in  play,  the 
man  of  sluggish  temperament  and  concealed  emotions, 
becomes  roused  almost  to  a  pitch  of  madness.  Indi- 
ans have  been  known  to  stake  their  whole  property 
upon  the  hazard  of  a  die. 

The  "  game  of  the  moccasin "  is  thus  performed. 
Four  moccasins  are  used,  and  a  little  bit  of  cloth  or 
stick  being  put  into  one  of  these,  one  of  the  parties 
guesses  which  it  is.  If  he  guesses  right,  his  opponent 
loses  eight,  if  not,  the  guesser  loses  eight.  Any  num- 
ber of  persons  can  join  in  the  game.  Another  diver- 
sion is  that  of  "  Bi(g-ga-sauk,"  which  is  played  in  a 
wooden  bowl,  with  dice  made  of  pieces  of  an  old  ket- 
tle, which  are  kept  bright  on  one  side,  and  stained 
with  some  color  on  the  other. 

RELIGION. — It  has  been  imagined  by  some  writers, 
that  a  portion  of  the  Indians  are  without  religious  no- 
tions, but  as  a  whole,  they  seem  to  have  been  among 
the  most  religious  people  in  the  world.  "Wherever 
there  was  being,  motion,  or  action,  there  to  the  red 


230  INDIANS    OF    NOUTH    AMERICA. 

man  was  a  spirit, — and  in  a  special  manner,  wherever 
there  appeared  singular  excellence  among  beasts  or 
birds,  or  in  the  creation,  there  to  him  was  the  pres- 
ence of  a  divinity.  When  he  feels  his  pulse  throb, 
he  knows  that  it  is  a  spirit.  A  god  resides  in  the 
flint,  to  give  forth  the  kindling,  cheering  fire ;  in  the 
mountain  cliff;  in  the  cool  recesses  of  the  grottoes 
which  nature  has  adorned ;  in  each  '  little  grass  '  that 
springs  miraculously  from  the  earth.  The  woods, 
the  wilds  and  the  waters,  respond  to  savage  intelli- 
gence;  the  stars  and  the  mountains  live;  the  river 
and  the  lake,  and  the  waves  have  a  spirit.  Every 
hidden  agency,  every  mysterious  influence  is  personi 
fled, — a  god  dwells  in  the  sun  and  in  the  moon,  and 
in  the  firmament ;  the  spirit  of  the  morning  reddens 
in  the  eastern  sky;  a  deity  is  present  in  the  ocean,  and 
in  the  fire ;  the  crag  that  overhangs  the  river,  has  its 
genius,  there  is  a  spirit  to  the  waterfall;  household 
god  makes  its  abode  in  the  Indian's  wigwam,  and  con- 
sequently his  home ;  spirits  climb  upon  the  forehead 
to  weigh  down  the  eyelids  in  sleep.  Not  the  heavenly 
bodies  only,  but  the  sky  is  filled  with  spirits  that  minis- 
ter to  man.  To  the  savage,  divinity,  broken,  as  it 
were,  into  an  infinite  number  of  fragments,  fills  all 
place  and  all  being." 

In  the  midst  of  all  this  diversity,  there  seems  to 
have  been  an  idea  of  a  Supreme  Being,  or  Manitou, 
the  creator  of  the  world,  to  whom  different  names 
were  given, — as  the  Great  Spirit,  or  Master  of  Life. 
Their  priests  also  taught  them  that  there  is  a  ma- 
lignant spirit,  and  as  he  is  deemed  very  powerful, 
he  is  the  object  of  a  large  portion  of  their  rites  and 


INDIANS    OF    NORTH   AMERICA.  237 

ceremonies.  They  appear  to  worship  animals, — as 
the  buffalo  and  bear.  But  it  seems  that  it  is  the  in- 
visible spirit,  or  type  of  the  animals,  to  which  their 
adoration  is  paid.  The  modes  and  objects  of  their 
worship  seem  to  be  almost  innumerable.  Their  su- 
perstition is  without  bounds.  All  that  is  wonderful, 
or  past  comprehension  is  attributed  by  them  to  the 
supernatural  agency  of  spirits.  The  notions  of  the 
Indian  in  respect  to  creation  are  much  diversified. 
Some  traces  of  the  deluge  appear  in  their  traditions. 
Many  tribes  believed  that  their  ancestors  existed 
within  the  bosom  of  the  earth,  either  in  human  shape, 
or  in  the  form  of  the  rabbit,  the  tortoise,  or  the  wood- 
chuck,  and  hence  the  reverence  paid  to  these  animals. 
Some  of  the  Delawares  imagined  that  they  lived  un- 
der a  lake,  till  one  of  them,  luckily,  found  a  hole,  by 
which  they  all  crept  out.  The  Mandans,  also,  had  a 
tradition,  that  they  lived  in  a  cavity  of  the  earth,  until 
one  of  their  young  men  climbed  up  to  the  surface  by 
means  of  a  vine.  Being  pleased  with  what  he  saw, 
he  returned  and  told  his  friends  of  the  upper  world. 
They  were  delighted  with  the  intelligence,  and  a  rush 
immediately  commenced  to  clamber  up  the  vine. 
Several  succeeded  in  reaching  the  surface,  but  unhap- 
pily, a  very  fat  old  woman  gave  the  vine  such  a  wrench 
in  ascending,  that  she  fell  to  the  ground,  and  thus  inter- 
rupted all  further  means  of  escape.  Those  on  the 
surface  established  a  Mandan  village,  while  those  in  the 
bowels  of  the  earth,  continue  there  to  the  present  day. 
Among  the  religious  ceremonies  of  the  Indians,  dan- 
ces hold  a  conspicuous  place.  Mr.  Callin  describes 
one  of  these  which  took  place  at  the  return  of  the  sea- 


239  INDIANS    OF    NORTH   AMERICA. 

son  of  green  corn,  and  the  dance  was  designed  as  a 
thanksgiving  to  the  Great  Spirit  for  his  beneficence 
in  bestowing  upon  them  such  a  luxury.  The  day 
being  appointed  by  the  medicine-men,  the  villagers 
are  all  assembled,  and  in  the  midst  of  the  pomp,  a 
kettle  is  hung  over  the  fire,  and  filled  with  the  green 
corn,  which  is  well  boiled  to  be  given  to  the  Great 
Spirit,  as  a  sacrifice  necessary  to  be  made  before  any 
one  can  indulge  the  cravings  of  his  appetite.  Whilst 
their  first  kettle  full  is  boiling,  four  medicine-men 
with  a  stalk  of  corn  in  one  hand  and  a  rattle  in  the 
other, — their  bodies  painted  with  white  clay,  dance 


round  the  kettle,  chanting  a  song  of  thanksgiving  to 
the  Great  Spirit,  to  whom  the  offering  is  to  be  made. 
At  the  same  time,  a  number  of  warriors  are  dancing 
around  in  a  more  extended  circle,  with  stalks  of  com 


INDIANS   OF   NORTH   AMERICA.  239 

in  their  hands,  and  joining  also  in  the  song  of  thanks- 
giving, whilst  the  villagers  are  all  assembled  and 
looking  on.  During  this  scene,  there  is  an  arrange- 
ment of  wooden  bowls  laid  upon  the  ground,  in  which 
the  feast  is  to  be  dealt  out,  each  one  having  in  it  a 
spoon,  made  of  buffalo  or  mountain  sheep's  horn. 
In  this  wise  the  dance  continues  until  the  doctors 
decide  that  the  corn  is  sufficiently  boiled.  After  a 
few  other  juggles,  the  ceremony  is  considered  com- 
plete, and  permission  is  given  to  commence  the 
feast.  From  this  time  a  scene  of  license  generally 
follows  till  the  fields  are  exhausted,  or  the  ears  have 
become  too  hard  for  use. 

Though  the  modes  of  burial  were  various,  yet  the 
Indians  universally  agreed  in  paying  particular  at- 
tention of  some  kind  to  the  manes  and  memory  of  the 
dead.  If  slain  in  battle,  every  exertion  was  made  to 
carry  off  their  bodies,  to  be  properly  buried,  as  well 
as  to  save  them  from  being  scalped.  The  dead  body 
was  frequently  interred  in  a  sitting  posture.  The 
Chippe\vas  have  a  custom  of  building  a  fire  over 
the  grave  for  several  nights  succeeding  interment. 
The  Mandans  placed  their  dead  bodies  on  slight  scaf- 
folds, just  above  the  reach  of  human  hands,  and  out 
of  the  way  of  wolves  and  dogs,  and  there  they  were 
left  to  decay.  The  skulls  were  afterwards  collected 
and  arranged  in  a  circle  around  two  medicine  poles. 
They  had  several  cemeteries  at  a  little  distance  from 
their  village,  where  hundreds  of  bodies  were  to  be  seen 
reposing  in  this  manner.  It  was  the  custom  of  the 
friends  here  to  visit  the  remains  of  the  departed,  and 
fathers,  mothers,  wives  and  children  •  might  be  often 


240 


INDIANS    OF   NOETH   AMERICA. 


seen  beneath  the  scaffolds,  bewailing  in  the  most  pite- 
ous manner  the  decease  of  their  kindred.  Sometimes 
-hey  tore  their  hair,  rolled  upon  the  ground,  and  lacer- 
ated their  flesh  with  knives,  to  appease  and  put  to  rest 


the  spirits  of  the  departed.  Nor  were  these  places  visit- 
ed only  for  penance.  The  women  often  resorted  hither 
to  hold  converse  with  the  dead,  and  not  unfrequently, 
the  mother  might  be  seen  with  her  needle-work  by 
the  skull  of  her  child,  and  chatting  to  the  ghastly 
relic,  as  if  it  were  the  living  offspring. 

The  Indians  believed  in  the  immortality  of  the  soUi, 
but  this  was  rather  a  continuance  of  life  than  a  resur- 
rection. His  faith  was  like  that  of  a  child,  which  still 
believes  its  mother  alive,  though  buried  in  the  tomb. 
In  the  new  state  of  existence,  they  believed  that  they 
should  enjoy,  without  abatement,  the  pleasures  of  this 


INDIANS   OF   NORTH   AMERICA.  241 

life :  that  they  would  roam  through  delightful  forests, 
stocked  with  game,  and  that,  ever  attended  by  atten- 
tive squaws,  they  should  feast  on  the  buffalo  and  the 
deer.  The  delights  of  their  Elysium  they  supposed 
to  be  enhanced  by  having  attained  distinction  in  this 
world  as  hunters  and  warriors :  the  chief  that  num- 
bered many  scalps  was  supposed  to  be  entitled  to  the 
highest  state  of  bliss. 

Their  simple  confiding  faith  led  them  to  cherish  the 
memory  and  remains  of  the  departed.  They  buried 
the  warrior  with  his  pipe,  his  tomahawk,  his  quiver 
and  the  bow  bent  for  action,  and  his  most  splendid 
apparel.  They  placed  by  his  side  the  bowl  of  maize 
and  the  haunch  of  venison,  to  feed  him  in  the  long 
journey  to  the  land  of  spirits.  The  mother  would 
bury,  by  the  tomb  of  her  infant,  its  cradle,  its  beads, 
and  its  rattles ;  and  even  draw  milk  from  her  bosom 
and  burn  it  in  the  fire,  that  the  passing  flame  might 
bear  nourishment  to  the  child  in  the  realms  of  the 
departed. 

"•  Of  all  the  nations  of  the  earth,"  says  Chateau- 
briand, "  the  Indians  discover  the  greatest  veneration 
for  their  dead.  In  national  calamities  the  first  thing 
they  think  of  is  to  save  the  treasures  of  the  tomb. 
They  recognize  no  legal  property,  but  where  the 
remains  of  ancestors  have  been  interred.  When  the 
Indians  have  pleaded  their  right  of  possession,  they 
have  always  employed  this  argument,  which  in  their 
opinion  is  irrefragable — '  Shall  we  say  to  the  bones 
of  our  fathers,  Rise,  and  follow  us  to  a  strange  land  ?' 
Finding  this  plea  disregarded,  they  carried  with  them 
le  bones  which  could  not  follow. 
P  v.— 21 


242  INDIANS   OF   NORTH   AMEKICA. 

•^  The  motives  of  this  attachment  to  sacred  relics  may 
easily  be  discovered.  Civilized  nations  have  monu- 
ments of  literature  and  the  arts  for  the  memorials  of 
their  country.  They  have  cities,  palaces,  towns,  col- 
umns, obelisks ;  they  have  the  furrows  of  the  plough, 
the  fields  cultivated  by  them ;  their  names  are  en- 
graven in  brass  and  marble ;  their  actions  are  recorded 
in  their  chronicles.  The  savages  have  none  of  these 
things.  Their  names  are  not  inscribed  on  the  trees 
of  their  forests.  Their  huts,  built  in  a  few  hours, 
perish  in  a  few  moments.  Their  traditional  songs 
are  vanishing  with  the  last  memory  which  retains 
them,  with  the  last  voice  which  repeats  them.  For 
the  tribes  of  the  New  World  there  is  therefore  but  a 
single  monument — the  grave.  Take  from  the  savages 
the  bones  of  their  fathers,  and  you  take  from  their  his- 
tory, their  laws,  and  their  very  gods." 

The  offerings  of  the  Indians  to  their  deities  were 
made  either  by  the  chiefs,  or  by  individuals  on  their 
own  account.  The  belief  in  sorcery  was  universal, 
and  their  medicine-men,  who  united  the  character  of 
prophet  and  priest,  were  supposed  to  exercise  dominion 
over  nature  and  the  unseen  world.  They  professed  to 
command  the  elements,  to  call  water  from  above,  be- 
neath, or  around,  to  foretell  the  drought,  and  direct  the 
lightning.  By  their  spells  they  could  give  success  to 
the  hunter's  arrow,  and  the  fisherman's  net.  They 
could  soften  the  heart  of  a  maid  towards  her  lover, 
endow  the  warrior  with  power  to  win  victory,  and 
compel  disease  to  depart  from  its  victim.  These 
powers  were  accorded  to  the  prophets  by  universal 
assent,  and  the  crafty  priests  were  not  slow  to  take 


INDIANS    OF    NORTH    AMERICA. 


243 


advantage  of  the  credulity  of  the  people  around. 
They  often  practised  the  grossest  imposition,  and 
often  the  character  of  the  medicine-man  was  blended 
with  that  of  the  juggler. 


A  Medicine-man. 

The  confidence  of  the  Indians  in  dreams  was  im- 
plicit. These  were  imagined  to  open  the  avenues  of 
futurity,  and  enabled  the  soul  to  tread  the  paths  of  the 
invisible  world.  Instances  have  been  known  in  which 
individuals  have  sacrificed  their  lives  to  what  were 
deemed  religious  visions.  Mr.  Schoolcraft1^  furnishes 

*  See  "  Oneota,  No.  1,"  a  work  which  promises  to  be  of  much 
value  in  collecting  and  disseminating  knowledge  respecting  the 
Indians. 


244  INDIANS    OF   NORTH    AMERICA. 

us  with  the  following  legend  of  the  Ottawas,  which 
illustrates  this  point  of  Indian  faith : 

"  A  long  time  ago,  there  lived  an  aged  Odjibwa  and 
his  wife,  on  the  shores  of  Lake  Huron.  They  had  an 
only  son,  a  very  beautiful  boy,  whose  name  was  O-na- 
wut-a-qut-o,  or  he  that  catches  the  clouds.  The  family 
were  of  the  totem  of  the  beaver.  The  parents  were 
very  proud  of  him,  and  thought  to  make  him  a  cele- 
brated man,  but  when  he  reached  the  proper  age,  he 
would  not  submit  to  the  We-koon-de-win,  or  fast. 
When  this  time  arrived,  they  gave  him  charcoal, 
instead  of  his  breakfast,  but  he  would  not  blacken  his 
face.  If  they  denied  him  food,  he  would  seek  for 
birds'  eggs  along  the  shore,  or  pick  up  the  heads  of 
fish  that  had  been  cast  away,  and  broil  them.  One 
day,  they  took  away  violently  the  food  he  had  thus 
prepared,  and  cast  him  some  coals  in  place  of  it.  This 
act  brought  him  to  a  decision.  He  took  the  coals  and 
blackened  his  face,  and  went  out  of  the  lodge.  He 
did  not  return,  but  slept  without ;  and  during  the 
night,  he  had  a  dream.  He  dreamed  that  he  saw  a 
very  beautiful  female  come  down  from  the  clouds  and 
stand  by  his  side.  '  0-no-wut-a-qut-o,'  said  she,  '  I 
am  come  for  you — step  in  my  tracks.'  The  young 
man  did  so,  and  presently  felt  himself  ascending 
above  the  tops  of  the  trees — he  mounted  up,  step  by 
step,  into  the  air,  and  through  the  clouds.  His  guide, 
at  length,  passed  through  an  orifice,  and  he,  following 
her,  found  himself  standing  on  a  beautiful  plain. 

"  A  path  led  to  a  splendid  lodge.  He  followed  her 
into  it.  It  was  large,  and  divided  into  two  parts.  On 
one  end  he  saw  bows  and  arrows,  clubs  and  spears, 


INDIANS    OF    NORTH   AMERICA.  245 

and  various  warlike  implements  tipped  with  silver. 
On  the  other  end,  were  things  exclusively  belonging 
to  females.  This  was  the  home  of  his  fair  guide,  and 
he  saw  that  she  had,  on  the  frame,  a  broad  rich  belt, 
of  many  colors,  which  she  was  weaving.  She  said 
to  him  :  '  My  brother  is  coming  and  I  must  hide  you.' 
Putting  him  in  one  corner,  she  spread  the  belt  over 
him.  Presently  the  brother  came  in,  very  richly 
dressed,  and  shining  as  if  he  had  had  points  of  silver 
all  over  him.  He  took  down  from  the  wall  a  splendid 
pipe,  together  with  his  sack  of  a-pa-ko-ze-gun,  or 
smoking  mixture.  When  he  had  finished  regaling 
himself  in  this  way,  and  laid  his  pipe  aside,  he  said  to 
his  sister :  '  Nemissa,'  (which  is,  my  eldest  sister,) 
'  when  will  you  quit  these  practices  ?  Do  you  forget 
that  the  Greatest  of  the  Spirits  has  commanded  that 
you  should  not  take  away  the  children  from  below  ? 
Perhaps  you  suppose  that  you  have  concealed  0-na- 
wut-a-qut-o,  but  do  I  not  know  of  his  coming  ?  If 
you  would  not  offend  me,  send  him  back  immediately.' 
But  this  address  did  not  alter  her  purpose.  She  would 
not  send  him  back.  Finding  that  she  was  purposed 
in  her  mind,  he  then  spoke  to  the  young  lad,  and 
called  him  from  his  hiding  place.  '  Come  out  of  your 
concealment,'  said  he,  '  and  walk  about  and  amuse 
yourself.  You  will  grow  hungry  if  you  remain 
there.'  He  then  presented  him  a  bow  and  arrows, 
and  a  pipe  of  red  stone,  richly  ornamented.  This  was 
taken  as  the  word  of  consent  to  his  marriage ;  so  the 
two  were  considered  husband  and  wife  from  that  time. 
"  0-no-wut-a-qut-o  found  everything  exceedingly  fair 
and  beautiful  around  him,  but  he  found  no  inhabitants 
21* 


246  INDIANS    OF    NORTH    AMERICA. 

except  her  brother.  There  were  flowers  on  the  plains. 
There  were  bright  and  sparkling  streams.  There 
were  green  valleys  and  pleasant  trees.  There  were 
gay  birds  and  beautiful  animals,  but  they  were  not 
such  as  he  had  been  accustomed  to  see.  There  was 
also  day  and  night,  as  on  the  earth ;  but  he  observed 
that  every  morning  the  brother  regularly  left  the 
lodge,  and  remained  absent  all  day  ;  and  every  even- 
ing the  sister  departed,  though  it  was  commonly  but 
for  a  part  of  the  night. 

"  His  curiosity  was  aroused  to  solve  this  mystery. 
He  obtained  the  brother's  consent  to  accompany  him 
in  one  of  his  daily  journeys.  They  travelled  over  a 
smooth  plain,  without  boundaries,  until  0-no-wut-a- 
qut-o  felt  the  gnawings  of  appetite,  and  asked  his 
companion  if  there  were  no  game.  '  Patience !  my 
brother,'  said  he, '  we  shall  soon  reach  the  spot  where 
I  eat  my  dinner,  and  you  will  then  see  how  I  am  pro- 
vided.' After  walking  on  a  long  time,  they  came  to 
a  place  which  was  spread  over  with  fine  mats,  where 
they  sat  down  to  refresh  themselves.  There  was,  at 
this  place,  a  hole  through  the  sky ;  and  O-no-wut-a- 
qut-o  looked  down,  at  the  bidding  of  his  companion, 
upon  the  earth.  He  saw  below  the  great  lakes,  and 
the  villages  of  the  Indians.  In  one  place  he  saw  a 
•war  party  stealing  on  the  camp  of  their  enemies.  In 
another,  he  saw  feasting  and  dancing.  On  a  green 
plain,  young  men  were  engaged  at  ball.  Along  a 
stream,  women  were  employed  in  gathering  the 
a-puk-wa  for  mats. 

"  '  Do  you  see,'  said  the  brother,  '  that  group  of  chil- 
dren playing  beside  a  lodge.  Observe  that  beautiful 


INDIANS   OF   NORTH   AMERICA.  247 

and  active  boy,'  said  he,  at  the  same  time  darting 
something  at  him,  from  his  hand.  The  child  imme- 
diately fell,  and  was  carried  into  the  lodge. 

"  They  looked  again,  and  saw  the  people  gathering 
about  the  lodge.  They  heard  the  she-she-gwan  of 
the  meeta,  and  the  song  he  sung,  asking  that  the 
child's  life  might  be  spared.  To  this  request,  the 
companion  of  O-no-wut-a-qut-o  made  answer — '  send 
me  up  the  sacrifice  of  a  white  dog.'  Immediately  a 
feast  was  ordered  by  the  parents  of  the  child,  the 
white  dog  was  killed,  his  carcass  was  roasted,  and  all 
the  wise  men  and  medicine-men  of  the  village  assem- 
bled to  witness  the  ceremony.  '  There  are  many  be- 
low,' continued  the  voice  of  the  brother,  '  whom  you 
call  great  in  medical  skill,  but  it  is  because  their  ears 
are  open,  and  they  listen  to  my  voice,  that  they  are 
able  to  succeed.  When  I  have  struck  one  with  sick- 
ness, they  direct  the  people  to  look  to  me :  and  when 
they  send  me  the  offering  I  ask,  I  remove  my  hand 
from  ofTthem,  and  they  are  well.'  After  he  had  said 
this,  they  saw  the  sacrifice  parcelled  out  in  dishes,  for 
those  who  were  at  the  feast.  The  master  of  the  feast 
then  said,  '  we  send  this  to  thee,  Great  Manito,'  and 
immediately  the  roasted  animal  came  up.  Thus  their 
dinner  was  supplied,  and  after  they  had  eaten,  they 
returned  to  the  lodge  by  another  way. 

"After  this  manner  they  lived  for  some  time  ;  but  the 
place  became  wearisome  at  last.  O-no-wut-a-qut-o 
thought  of  his  friends,  and  wished  to  go  back  to  them. 
He  had  not  forgotten  his  native  village,  and  his  father's 
lodge ;  and  he  asked  leave  of  his  wife  to  return.  At 
length  she  consented.  '  Since  you  are  better  pleased,' 


248  INDIANS    OF    KOKTH    AMEK1CA. 

she  replied,  '  with  the  cares,  and  the  ills,  and  the  pov- 
erty of  the  world,  than  with  the  peaceful  delights  of 
the  sky,  and  its  boundless  prairies,  go !  I  give  you 
permission ;  and  since  I  have  brought  you  hither,  I 
will  conduct  you  back ;  but  remember,  you  are  still 
my  husband ;  I  hold  a  chain  in  my  hand  by  which  I 
can  draw  you  back,  whenever  I  will.  My  power  over 
you  is  not,  in  any  manner,  diminished.  Beware, 
therefore,  how  you  venture  to  take  a  wife  among  the 
people  below.  Should  you  ever  do  so,  it  is  then  that 
you  shall  feel  the  force  of  my  displeasure.' 

"As  she  said  this,  her  eyes  sparkled — she  raised 
herself  slightly  on  her  toes,  and  stretched  herself  up, 
with  a  majestic  air ;  and  at  that  moment,  O-no-wut-a- 
qut-o  awoke  from  his  dream.  He  found  himself  on 
the  ground,  near  his  father's  lodge,  at  the  very  spot 
where  he  had  laid  himself  down  to  fast.  Instead  of 
the  bright  beings  of  a  higher  world,  he  found  himself 
surrounded  by  his  parents  and  relatives.  His  mother 
told  him  he  had  been  absent  a  year.  The  change 
was  so  great  that  he  remained  for  some  time  moody 
and  abstracted,  but  by  degrees  he  recovered  his  spirits. 
He  began  to  doubt  the  reality  of  all  he  had  heard  and 
seen  above.  At  last,  he  forgot  the  admonitions  of  his 
spouse,  and  married  a  beautiful  young  woman  of  his 
own  tribe ;  but  within  four  days,  she  was  a  corpse. 
Even  the  fearful  admonition  was  lost,  and  he  repeated 
the  offence  by  a  second  marriage.  Soon  afterwards, 
he  went  out  of  the  lodge  one  night,  but  never  returned. 
It  was  believed  that  his  wife  had  recalled  him  to  the 
region  of  the  clouds,  where,  the  tradition  asserts,  he 
still  dwells,  and  walks  on  the  daily  rounds  which  he 
once  witnessed," 


INDIANS    OF   NORTH   AMERICA.  249 

ORATORY. — The  oratory  of  the  Indians  has  been  the 
frequent  theme  of  admiration.  Eloquence  with  them 
was  a  native  talent,  and  being  held  in  great  esteem, 
was  cultivated  as  a  means  of  gaining  favor  and  influ- 
ence with  the  tribes.  The  great  orator  was  second 
only  to  the  great  warrior.  The  speeches  of  Pontiac, 
Tecumseh,  and  Red  Jacket  would  sometimes  merit 
praise,  even  if  they  had  fallen  from  the  lips  of  civilized 
statesmen.  Self-appreciation  is  the  characteristic  of 
barbarous  man,  and  boasting  was  not  deemed  offensive 
in  the  Indian  orator.  When  Red  Jacket  was  called 
upon  to  make  an  address  at  the  launching  of  a  schooner 
at  Black  Rock,  bearing  his  name,  he  spoke  as  follows, 
directing  his  words  to  the  vessel : 

"  You  have  had  a  great  name  given  to  you  ;  strive 
to  deserve  it.  Be  brave  and  daring.  Go  boldly  into 
the  great  lakes,  and  fear  neither  the  swift  winds,  nor 
the  strong  waves.  Be  not  frightened  nor  overcome 
by  them ;  for  it  is  by  resisting  storms  and  tempests 
that  I,  whose  name  you  bear,  obtained  my  renown. 
Let  my  great  example  inspire  you  with  courage,  and 
lead  you  to  glory." 

A  speech  of  the  same  individual  is  preserved,  which 
shows  a  remarkable  power  of  sarcasm,  with  great  fe- 
licity of  illustration.  Red  Jacket  was  averse  to  the 
introduction  of  the  Christian  religion  among  his  tribes. 
He  had  an  especial  hostility  to  missionaries,  whom  he 
called  "black-coats."  Being  once  asked  the  reason 
why  he  opposed  the  operations  of  these  men,  he  said, 
"  Because  they  do  us  no  good.  If  they  are  not  useful 
to  the  white  people,  why  do  they  send  them  among 
the  Indians  ?  If  they  are  useful  to  the  white  people, 


250  INDIANS    OF    NORTH   AMERICA. 

why  do  they  not  keep  them  at  home  ?  They  are  surely 
bad  enough  to  need  the  labor  of  every  one  who  can 
make  them  better.  These  men  know  we  do  not  un- 
derstand their  religion.  We  cannot  read  their  book. 
They  tell  us  different  stories  about  what  it  contains, 
and  we  believe  they  make  the  book  talk  to  suit  them- 
selves. If  we  had  no  money,  no  land,  and  no  country 
to  be  cheated  out  of,  these  black  coats  would  not  trouble 
themselves  about  our  good  hereafter. 

"  The  Great  Spirit  will  not  punish  us  for  what  we 
do  not  know.  He  will  do  justice  to  his  red  children. 
These  black  coats  talk  to  the  Great  Spirit,  and  ask  for 
light,  that  we  may  see  as  they  do,  when  they  are  blind 
themselves,  and  quarrel  about  the  light  which  guides 
them.  These  things  we  do  not  understand,  and  the 
light  they  give  us  makes  the  straight  and  plain  path 
trod  by  our  fathers,  dark  and  dreary.  The  black  coats 
tell  us  to  work  and  raise  corn ;  they  do  nothing  them- 
selves, and  would  starve  to  death  if  somebody  did  not 
feed  them.  All  they  do  is  to  pray  to  the  Great  Spirit, 
but  that  will  not  make  corn  or  potatoes  grow ;  if  it  will, 
why  do  they  beg  from  us  and  the  white  people  ? 

"  The  red  men  knew  nothing  of  trouble  till  it  came 
from  the  white  men ;  as  soon  as  they  crossed  the  great 
waters,  they  wanted  our  country,  and  in  return  have 
always  been  ready  to  teach  us  to  quarrel  about  their 
religion.  Red  Jacket  can  never  be  a  friend  of  such 
men.  The  Indians  can  never  be  civilized — they  are 
not  like  white  men.  If  they  were  raised  among  the 
white  people,  and  learned  to  work  and  to  read  as  they 
do,  it  would  make  their  situations  worse.  They 
\vould  be  treated  no  better  than  negroes.  We  are  few 


INDIANS    OF    NORTH   AMERICA.  L'ol 

and  weak,  but  may  for  a  long  time  be  happy  if  \ve 
hold  fast  to  our  country  and  the  religion  of  our 
fathers." 

STORY-TELLING,  POETRY,  &c.  As  the  Indians  had  no 
books,  their  literature  was  entirely  traditional.  It  con- 
sisted of  the  history  of  the  tribes,  legends  of  their  gods, 
superstitious  tales  and  marvels,  fables  and  fragments 
of  lyrical  poetry.  The  traditionary  tales  occupy  the 
place  of  books.  Mr.  Schoolcraft  gives  us  the  follow- 
ing description  of  a  scene  that  may  often  be  witnessed 
in  the  wigwam : 

"  An  old  Indian  enters,  enfeebled  by  years,  and  no 
longer  able  to  join  the  warriors  and  hunters,  now  per- 
haps absent  on  some  dangerous  enterprise.  He  pos- 
sesses a  memory  retentive  of  the  traditions  of  the  tribe, 
and  probably  an  imagination  quick  at  invention  or  em- 
bellishment. As  a  necessary  qualification,  he  is  one 
of  the  few  well  acquainted  with  his  native  language. 
He  loves  to  repeat  his  tales,  and  the  children  dearly 
love  to  listen.  In  the  many  waste  hours  of  savage 
life,  the  mother  often  realizes  the  inconvenience  of 
having  to  provide  occupation  for  unemployed  minds ; 
and  the  story-teller  is  welcomed  by  her  for  the  relief 
he  brings. 

"  The  old  man,  seated  on  the  ground,  and  surrounded 
by  an  attentive  circle,  begins  his  tale  ;  and  as  the  in- 
terest rises,  and  the  narrative  requires  it,  he  now 
changes  his  tone  to  imitate  different  speakers,  varies 
his  countenance  and  attitudes,  or  moves  across  the 
lodge  to  personate  the  characters  he  describes.  The 
mother,  without  disturbance,  places  the  kettle  on  tho 
'fire,  and  quietly  prepares  some  savory  dish  to  regale 
the  old  wanderer  at  the  close  of  his  labors. 


252  INDIANS    OF   NORTH   AMERICA. 

"  Thus,  as  by  the  minstrels,  bards  and  troubadours 
of  former  days,  and  as  by  the  Turkish  story-tellers  at 
the  present  time,  the  Indians  hand  down  their  tradi- 
tions of  different  kinds  from  generation  to  generation. 
The  two  succeeding  tales  are  connected  with  their  re- 
ligious systems,  and  were  evidently  forged  for  the 
purpose  of  teaching  the  duty  of  subserviency  to  the 
priests.  They  bear  striking  resemblances  to  certain 
mythological  tales  of  other  nations,  ancient  and  mod- 
ern, which  may  occur  to  some  of  our  readers,  but  which 
we  cannot  at  present  point  out." 

The  following  is  a  tale  related  by  an  Ottawa,  and 
affords  a  good  specimen  of  the  religious  fables  of  the 
savages : 

"  There  was  once  a  very  beautiful  young  girl,  who 
died  suddenly  on  the  day  she  was  to  have  been  mar- 
ried to  a  handsome  young  man.  He  was  also  brave, 
but  his  heart  was  riot  proof  against  this  loss.  From 
the  hour  she  was  buried,  there  was  no  more  joy  or 
peace  for  him.  He  went  often  to  visit  the  spot  where 
the  women  had  buried  her,  and  sat  musing  there,  when 
it  was  thought,  by  some  of  his  friends,  he  would  have 
done  better  to  try  to  amuse  himself  in  the  chase,  or  by 
diverting  his  thoughts  in  the  war-path.  But  war  and 
hunting  had  both  lost  their  charms  for  him.  His  heart 
was  already  dead  within  him.  He  pushed  aside  both 
his  war-club  and  his  bow  and  arrows. 

"  He  had  heard  the  old  people  say  that  there  was  a 
path  that  led  to  the  land  of  souls,  and  he  determined 
to  follow  it.  He  accordingly  set  out,  one  morning, 
after  having  completed  his  preparations  for  the  jour- 
ney. At  first  he  hardly  knew  which  way  to  go.  He 


INDIANS   OF   NORTH   AMERICA.  253 

was  only  guided  by  the  tradition  that  he  must  go 
south.  For  a  while  he  could  see  no  change  in  thp 
face  of  the  country.  Forests,  and  hills,  and  valleys, 
and  streams  had  the  same  looks  which  they  wore  in 
his  native  place.  There  was  snow  on  the  ground 
when  he  set  out,  and  it  was  sometimes  seen  to  be 
piled  and  matted  on  the  thick  trees  and  bushes.  At 
length,  it  began  to  diminish,  and  finally  disappeared. 
The  forest  assumed  a  more  cheerful  appearance,  the 
leaves  put  forth  their  buds,  and  before  he  was  aware 
of  the  completeness  of  the  change,  he  found  himself 
surrounded  by  spring.  He  had  left  behind  him  the 
land  of  snow  and  ice.  The  air  became  mild,  the  dark 
clouds  of  winter  had  rolled  away  from  the  sky ;  a  pure 
field  of  blue  was  above  him,  and  as  he  went  he  saw 
flowers  beside  his  path,  and  heard  the  songs  of  birds. 
By  these  signs  he  knew  that  he  was  going  the  right 
way,  for  they  agreed  with  the  traditions  of  his  tribe. 
At  length  he  spied  a  path.  It  led  him  through  a 
grove,  then  up  a  long  and  elevated  ridge,  on  the  very 
top  of  which  he  came  to  a  lodge.  At  the  door  stood 
an  old  man,  with  white  hair,  whose  eyes,  though 
deeply  sunk,  had  a  fiery  brilliancy.  He  had  a  long 
robe  of  skins  thrown  loosely  around  his  shoulders, 
and  a  staff  in  his  hands. 

"  The  young  Chippewayan  began  to  tell  his  story  ; 
but  the  venerable  chief  arrested  him,  before  he  had 
proceeded  to  speak  ten  .words.  '  I  have  expected 
you,'  he  replied,  '  and  had  just  risen  to  bid  you  wel- 
come to  my  abode.  She,  whom  you  seek,  passed 
here  but  a  few  days  since,  and  being  fatigued  with 
her  journey,  rested  herself  here.  Enter  my  lodge 


254  INDIANS   OF   XORTH   AMERICA. 

and  be  seated,  and  I  will  then  satisfy  your  inquiries, 
and  give  you  directions  for  your  journey  from  this 
point.'  Having  done  this,  they  both  issued  forth  to 
the  lodge  door.  '  You  see  yonder  gulf,'  said  he, '  and 
the  wide  stretching  blue  plains  beyond.  It  is  the  land 
of  souls.  You  stand  upon  its  borders,  and  my  lodge 
is  the  gate  of  entrance.  But  you  cannot  take  your 
body  along.  Leave  it  here  with  your  bow  and  arrows, 
your  bundle  and  your  dog.  You  will  find  them  safe 
on  your  return.' 

"  So  saying,  he  reentered  the  lodge,  and  the  freed 
traveller  bounded  forward,  as  if  his  feet  had  suddenly 
been  endowed  with  the  power  of  wings.  But  all 
things  retained  their  natural  colors  and  shapes.  The 
woods,  and  leaves,  and  streams,  and  lakes,  were  only 
more  bright  and  comely  than  any  he  had  ever  wit- 
nessed. Animals  bounded  across  his  path,  with  a 
freedom  and  a  confidence  which  seemed  to  tell  him, 
there  was  no  blood  shed  here.  Birds  of  beautiful 
plumage  inhabited  the  groves,  and  sported  in  the  wa- 
ters. There  was  but  one  thing  in  which  he  saw  a 
very  unusual  effect.  He  noticed  that  his  passage  was 
not  stopped  by  trees  or  other  objects.  He  appeared 
to  walk  directly  through  them.  They  were,  in  fact, 
but  the  souls  or  shadows  of  material  trees.  He  be- 
came sensible  that  he  was  in  a  land  of  shadows. 
When  he  had  travelled  half  a  day's  journey,  through 
a  country  which  was  contirmally  becoming  more  at- 
tractive, he  came  to  the  banks  of  a  broad  lake,  in  the 
centre  of  which  was  a  large  and  beautiful  island.  He 
found  a  canoe  of  shining  white  stone,  tied  to  the  shore. 
He  was  now  sure  that  he  had  come  the  right  path,  for 


INDIANS    OF    NORTH   AMERICA.  255 

the  aged  man  had  told  him  of  this.  There  were  also 
shining  paddles. 

"  He  immediately  entered  the  canoe,  and  took  the 
paddles  in  his  hands,  when,  to  his  joy  and  surprise, 
on  turning  round,  he  beheld  the  object  of  his  search 
in  another  canoe,  exactly  its  counterpart  in  every- 
thing. She  had  exactly  imitated  his  motions,  and 
they  were  side  by  side.  They  at  once  pushed  out 
from  shore  and  began  to  cross  the  lake.  Its  waves 
seemed  to  be  rising,  and  at  a  distance  looked  ready  to 
swallow  them  up;  but  just  as  they  entered  the  whi- 
tened edge  of  them  they  seemed  to  melt  away,  as  if 
they  were  but  the  images  of  waves.  But  no  sooner 
was  one  wreath  of  foam  passed,  than  another,  more 
threatening  still,  rose  up.  Thus  they  were  in  perpet- 
ual fear;  and  what  added  to  it,  was  the  clearness  of 
the  water,  through  which  they  could  see  heaps  of  be- 
ings who  had  perished  before,  and  whose  bones  lay 
strewed  on  the  bottom  of  the  lake.  The  Master  of 
Life  had,  however,  decreed  to  let  them  pass;  for  the 
actions  of  neither  of  them  had  been  bad.  But  they 
saw  many  others  struggling  and  sinking  in  the  waves. 
Old  men  and  young  men,  males  and  females,  of  all  ages 
and  ranks,  were  there ;  some  passed,  and  some  sank. 
It  was  only  the  little  children  whose  canoes  seemed  to 
meet  no  waves. 

"At  length,  every  difficulty  was  gone,  as  in  a  mo- 
ment, and  they  both  leaped  out  on  the  happy  island. 
They  felt  that  the  very  air  was  food.  It  strengthened 
and  nourished  them.  They  wandered  together  over 
the  blissful  fields,  where  everything  was  formed  to 
please  the  eye  and  the  ear.  There  were  no  tempests 


256  INDIANS   OF   NORTH   AMERICA. 

— there  was  no  ice,  no  chilly  winds — no  one  shivered 
•or  the  want  of  warm  clothes :  no  one  suffered  from 
hunger — no  one  mourned  for  the  dead.  They  saw 
no  graves.  They  heard  of  no  wars.  There  was  no 
nunting  of  animals ;  for  the  air  itself  was  their  food. 
Gladly  would  the  young  warrior  have  remained  there 
forever,  but  he  was  obliged  to  go  back  for  his  body. 
He  did  not  see  the  Master  of  Life,  but  he  heard  his 
voice  in  a  soft  breeze.  '  Go  back,'  said  this  voice,  '  to 
the  land  from  whence  you  came.  Your  time  has  not 
yet  come.  The  duties  for  which  I  made  you,  and 
which  you  are  to  perform,  are  not  yet  finished.  Re- 
turn to  your  people,  and  accomplish  the  duties  of  a 
good  man.  You  will  be  the  ruler  of  your  tribe  for 
many  days.  The  rules  you  must  observe  will  be  told 
you  by  my  messenger,  who  keeps  the  gate.  When 
he  surrenders  back  your  body,  he  will  tell  you  what 
to  do.  Listen  to  him,  and  you  shall  afterwards  rejoin 
the  spirit,  which  you  must  now  leave  behind.  She  is 
accepted  and  will  be  ever  here,  as  young  and  as  happy 
as  she  was  when  I  first  called  her  from  the  land  of 
snows.'  When  this  voice  ceased,  the  narrator  awoke. 
It  was  the  fancy  work  of  a  dream,  and  he  was  still  in 
the  bitter  land  of  snows,  and  hunger,  and  tears." 

The  following  is  a  specimen  of  an  Odjibwa  fable  : 
and  may  compare  with  the  same  class  of  fictions, 
among  civilized  nations  : 

"A  lynx,  almost  famished,  met  a  hare  one  day  in 
the  woods,  in  the  winter  season,  but  the  hare  was  sep- 
arated from  its  enemy  by  a  rock,  upon  which  it  stood. 
The  lynx  began  to  speak  to  it  in  a  very  kind  manner. 
1  Wabose  !  Wabose  ! '  said  he,  '  come  here,  my  little 


INDIANS   OF   NOIiTII  AME~  CA.  257 

white  one,  I  wish  to  talk  to  you.'  '  Oh  no,'  said  the 
hare,  '  I  am  afraid  of  you,  and  my  mother  told  me 
never  to  go  and  talk  with  strangers.'  '  You  are  very 
pretty,'  replied  the  lynx,  '  and  a  very  obedient  child  to 
your  parents  ;  but  you  must  know  that  I  am  a  relative 
of  yours ;  I  wish  to  send  some  word  to  your  lodge ; 
come  down  and  see  me.'  The  hare  was  pleased  to  be 
called  pretty,  and  when  she  heard  that  it  was  a  rela- 
tive, she  jumped  down  from  the  place  where  she  stood, 
and  immediately  the  lynx  pounced  upon  her  and  toro 
her  to  pieces." 

"  Common  as  the  Indian  songs  are,"  says  School- 
craft,  "  it  is  found  to  be  no  ordinary  acquisition  to  ob- 
tain accurate  specimens  of  them.  Even  after  the  diffi- 
culties of  the  notation  have  been  accomplished,  it  is 
not  easy  to  satisfy  the  requisitions  of  a  correct  taste 
and  judgment,  in  their  exhibition.  There  is  always 
a  lingering  fear  of  misapprehension,  or  misconception, 
on  the  part  of  the  interpreter — or  of  some  things  being 
withheld  by  the  never-sleeping  suspicion,  or  the  su- 
perstitious fear  of  disclosure,  on  the  part  of  the  Indian. 
To  these  must  be  added,  the  idiomatic  and  imaginative 
peculiarities  of  this  species  of  wild  composition — so 
very  different  from  every  notion  of  English  versifica- 
tion. 

"  In  the  first  place  there  is  no  unity  of  theme,  or  plot, 
unless  it  be  that  the  subject,  war,  for  instance,  is  kept 
in  the  singer's  mind.  In  the  next  place  both  the  nar- 
ration and  the  description,  when  introduced,  is  very 
imperfect,  broken,  or  disjointed.  Prominent  ideas 
flash  out,  and  are  dropped.  These  are  often  most 
striking  and  beautiful,  but  we  wait  in  vain  for  any 
Q  22* 


INDIANS    OF    KOKTH    AM£K1CA. 

sequence.  A  brief  allusion — a  shining  symbol,  a  burst 
of  feeling  or  passion,  a  fine  sentiment,  or  a  bold  asser- 
tion, come  in  as  so  many  independent  parts,  and  there 
is  but  little  in  the  composition  to  indicate  the  leading 
theme,  which  is,  as  it  were,  kept  in  mental  reserve  by 
the  singer.  Popular,  or  favorite  expressions  are  often 
repeated,  often  transposed,  and  often  exhibited  with 
some  new  shade  of  meaning. 

"The  structure  and  flexibility  of  the  language  is 
highly  favorable  to  this  kind  of  wild  improvisation. 
But  it  is  difficult  to  translate,  and  next  to  impossible  to 
preserve  its  spirit.  Two  languages  more  unlike,  in 
all  their  leading  characteristics,  than  the  English  and 
the  Indian,  were  never  brought  into  contact.  The 
one  monosyllabic,  and  nearly  without  inflections — the 
other  polysyllabic,  polysynthetic,  and  so  full  of  inflec- 
tions of  every  imaginative  kind,  as  to  be  completely 
transpositive — the  one  from  the  north  of  Europe,  the 
other,  probably,  from  Central  Asia — it  would  seem  that 
these  families  of  the  human  race  had  not  wandered 
wider  apart,  in  their  location,  than  they  have  in  the 
sounds  of  their  language,  the  accidence  of  their  gram- 
mar, and  the  definition  of  their  words.  So  that,  to 
find  equivalent  single  words  in  translation,  appears 
often  as  hopeless  as  the  quadrature  of  the  circle. 

"The  great  store-house  of  Indian  imagery  is  the 
heavens.  The  clouds,  the  planets,  the  sun  and 
moon,  the  phenomena  of  lightning,  thunder,  elec- 
tricity, aerial  sounds,  electric  or  atmospheric,  and  the 
endless  variety  produced  in  the  heavens  by  light  and 
shade,  and  by  elemental  action, — these  constitute  the 
fruitful  themes  of  allusion  in  their  songs  and  poetic 


INDIANS    OF    NORTH   AMERICA.  259 

chants.  But  they  are  mere  allusions,  or  broken  de- 
scriptions, like  touches  on  the  canvass,  without  being 
united  to  produce  a  perfect  object.  The  strokes  may 
be  those  of  a  master,  and  the  coloring  exquisite ;  but 
without  the  art  to  draw,  or  the  skill  to  connect,  it  will 
still  remain  but  a  shapeless  mass. 

"  In  war  excursions  great  attention  is  paid  to  the 
flight  of  birds,  particularly  those  of  the  carnivorous 
species,  which  are  deemed  typical  of  Avar  and  bravery, 
and  their  wing  and  tail  feathers  are  appropriated  as 
marks  of  honor,  by  the  successful  warrior.  When  the 
rninds  of  a  war  party  have  been  roused  up  to  the  sub- 
ject, and  they  are  prepared  to  give  utterance  to  their 
feelings  by  singing  and  dancing,  they  are  naturally 
led  to  appeal  to  the  agency  of  this  class  of  birds. 
Hence  the  frequent  allusions  to  them,  in  their  songs. 
The  following  stanza  is  made  up  of  expressions 
brought  into  connection,  from  different  fragments,  but 
expresses  no  more  than  the  native  sentiments : 

The  eagles  scream  on  high, 

They  xvhet  their  forked  beaks, 
Eaise — raise  the  battle  cry, 

'T  is  fame  our  leader  seeks. 

"  Generally  the  expressions  are  of  an  exalted  and 
poetic  character,  but  the  remarks  before  made  of  their 
efforts  in  song,  being  discontinuous  and  abrupt,  apply 
with  peculiar  force  to  the  war  songs.  To  speak  of  a 
brave  man — of  a  battle — or  the  scene  of  a  battle,  or  of 
the  hovering  of  birds  of  prey  above  it,  appears  suf- 
ficient to  bring  up  to  the  warrior's  mind,  all  the  details 
consequent  on  personal  bravery  or  heroic  achievement. 
It  would  naturally  be  expected,  that  they  should  de- 


260  INDIANS    OF   NORTH   AMERICA. 

light  to  chvell  on  scenes  of  carnage  and  blood :  but 
however  this  may  be,  all  such  details  are  omitted  or 
suppressed  in  their  war  songs,  which  only  excite  ideas 
of  noble  daring. 

The  birds  of  the  brave  take  a  flight  round  the  sky, 

They  cross  the  enemy's  line, 
Full  happy  ain  I — that  my  body  should  fall, 

Where  brave  men  love  to  die. 

"  Very  little  effort  in  the  collocation  and  expansion 
of  some  of  their  sentiments,  would  impart  to  these  bold 
and  unfettered  rhapsodies,  an  attractive  form,  among 
polished  war  songs. 

"  The  strain  in  which  these  measures  are  sung,  is 
generally  slow  and  grave  in  its  commencement  and 
progress,  and  terminates  in  the  highest  note.  While 
the  words  admit  of  change,  and  are  marked  by  all  the 
fluctuation  of  extempore  composition,  the  air  and  the 
chorus  appear  to  be  permanent,  consisting  not  only  of 
a  graduated  succession  of  fixed  sounds,  but  always 
exact  in  their  enunciation,  their  quantity,  and  their 
wild  and  startling  musical  expression. 

"  Rhyme  is  permitted  by  the  similarity  of  the  sounds 
from  which  the  vocabulary  is  formed,  but  the  structure 
of  the  language  does  not  appear  to  admit  of  its  being 
successfully  developed  in  this  manner.  Its  forms  are 
too  cumbrous  for  regularly  recurring  expressions,  sub- 
jected at  once  to  the  laws  of  metre  and  rhyme.  The 
instances  of  rhyme  that  have  been  observed  in  the  na- 
tive songs  are  few,  and  appear  to  be  the  result  of  the 
fortuitous  positions  of  words,  rather  than  art. 

"  In  the  translation  of  hymns,  made  during  the  mod- 
ern period  of  missionary  effort,  there  has  been  no 


INDIANS   OF   NORTH   AMERICA.  261 

general  attempt  to  secure  rhyme ;  and  as  these  trans- 
lations are  generally  due  to  educated  natives,  under 
the  inspection  and  with  the  critical  aid  of  the  mission- 
ary, they  have  evinced  a  true  conception  of  the  genius 
of  language,  by  the  omission  of  this  accident.  Eliot, 
who  translated  the  Psalms  of  David  into  the  Mas- 
sachusetts language,  which  were  first  printed  in  1661, 
appears  to  have  deemed  it  important  enough  to  aim  at 
its  attainment :  but  an  examination  of  the  work,  now 
oefore  us,  gives  but  little  encouragement  to  others  to 
lollow  his  example,  at  least  while  the  languages  re- 
main in  their  present  rude  and  uncultivated  state. 
The  following  is  the  XXIIId  Psalm  from  this  version  • 

1.  Mar  teag  nukquenaabikoo 

shepse  nanaauk  God. 
Nussepsinwahik  ashkoshqut 
nuttinuk  ohtopagod 

2.  Nagum  nukketeahog  kounoh 

wutomohkinuh  wonk 
Nutuss  ocunuk  ut  sampoi  may 
newutch  oowesnonk. 

3.  Wutonkauhtamut  pomushaon 

muppo&onk  oonauhkoe 
"Woskehettuonk  mo  nukqueh  tamao 
newutch  koowetomah : 

4.  Kuppogkomunk  kutanwohon 

nish  noonenehiquog 
Kjonochoc  hkah  anquabhetti 
wame  nummatwomog 

5.  Kussussequnum  nuppuhkuk 

weetepummee  nashpea 
Wonk  woi  God  nxtallamwaitch 
pomponetuphos  hau 


262  INDIANS    OF    NORTH   AMERICA. 

6.     QDniyeuonk  monaneteonk 

nutasukkonkqunash 
Tohsohke  pomantam  wekit  God 
michem  nuttain  pish.* 

''  This  appears  to  have  been  rendered  from  the  ver- 
sion of  the  Psalms  appended  to  an  old  edition  of  King 
James'  Bible  of  1611,  and  not  from  the  versification 
of  Watts.  By  comparing-  it  with  this,  as  exhibited 
below,  there  will  be  found  the  same  metre,  eights  and 
sixes,  the  same  syllabical  quantity,  and  the  same 
coincidence  of  rhyme  at  the  second  and  fourth  lines 
of  each  verse  ;  although  it  required  an  additional  verse 
to  express  the  entire  psalm.  It  could  therefore  be 
sung  to  the  ordinary  tunes  in  use  in  Eliot's  time,  and, 
taken  in  connection  with  his  entire  version,  including 
the  Old  and  New  Testament,  evinces  a  degree  of  pa- 
tient assiduity  on  the  part  of  that  eminent  missionary, 
which  is  truly  astonishing  : 

The  Lord  is  my  shepherd,  I  '11  not  want ; 

2.    He  makes  me  down  to  lie 
In  pastures  green  :  he  leadeth  me 

the  quiet  waters  by. 

3.  My  soul  he  doth  restore  again 

and  me  to  walk  doth  make 
Within  the  paths  of  righteousness 
E'en  for  his  own  name's  sake. 

4.  Yea,  though  I  walk  in  death's  dark  vala 

yet  will  I  fear  none  ill ; 
For  thou  art  with  me  and  thy  rod 
and  staff  me  comfort  still. 

*  Eliot  employed  the  figure  8,  set  horizontally,  to  express  a 
peculiar  sound  :  otherwise  he  used  the  English  alphabet  in  its 
ordinary  powers. 


INDIANS   OF   NORTH   AMERICA.  268 

< 

5.  My  table  thou  hast  furnished 

in  presence  of  my  foes ; 
My  head  thou  dost  with  oil  anoint, 
and  my  cup  overflows. 

6.  Goodness  and  mercy  all  my  life 

shall  surely  follow  me  ; 
And  in  God's  house  forevermore 
my  dwelling  place  shall  be. 

Mr.  Schoolcraft  furnishes  us  also  with  the  following 
pleasing  passage. — "  In  the  hot  summer  evenings, 
the  children  of  the  Chippewa  Algonquins,  along  the 
shores  of  the  upper  lakes,  and  in  the  northern  lati- 
tudes, frequently  assemble  before  their  parents'  lodges, 
and  amuse  themselves  by  little  chants  of  various 
kinds,  with  shouts  and  wild  dancing.  Attracted  by 
such  shouts  of  merriment  and  gambols,  I  walked  out 
one  evening,  to  a  green  lawn  skirting  the  edge  of  the 
St.  Mary's  river,  with  the  fall  in  full  view,  to  get  hold 
of  the  meaning  of  some  of  these  chants.  The  air  and 
the  plain  were'  literally  sparkling  with  the  phosphor- 
escent light  of  the  fire-fly.  By  dint  of  attention,  re- 
peated on  one  or  two  occasions,  the  following  succes- 
sion of  words  was  caught.  They  were  addressed  to 
this  insect : 

Wau  wau  lay  see  ! 

Wau  wau  lay  see  ! 

E  mow  e  shin 

Tshe  bwau  ne  baun-e  wee  ! 

Be  eghaun — be  eghaun — ewee! 

Wa  wau  tay  see  ! 

Wa  wau  tay  see ! 

"Was  sa  koon  ain  je  gun 

Was  sa  koon  ain  je  gun. 


264k  INDIANS    OF    NORTH    AMERICA. 

"  The  literal  translation  is  as  follows  : — '  Flitting- 
white-nre-insect !  waving-white-fire-bug !  give  me 
Vght  before  I  go  to  bed !  give  me  light  before  I  go  to 
sleep.  Come,  little  dancing- white-fire-bug !  Come 
little  flitting-white-fire-beast !  Light  me  with  your 
bright  white-flame-instrument — your  little  candle.' 
Metre  there  was  none,  at  least,  of  a  regular  character : 
they  were  the  wild  improvisations  of  children  in  a 
merry  mood.  The  following  will  serve  as  a  free 
translation : 

Fire-fly,  fire-fly !  bright  little  thing, 

Light  me  to  bed,  and  my  song  I  will  sing. 

Give  me  your  light,  as  you  fly  o'er  my  head, 

That  I  may  merrily  go  to  my  bed. 

Give  me  your  light  o'er  the  grass  as  you  creep, 

That  I  may  joyfully  go  to  my  sleep 

Come  little  fire-fly — come  little  beast 

Come !  and  I  '11  make  you  to-morrow  a  feast. 

Came  little  candle  that  flies  as  I  sing, 

Bright  little  fairy-bug — night's  little  king ; 

Come,  and  I  '11  dance  as  you  guide  me  along, 

Come,  and  I  '11  pay  you,  my  bug,  with  a  song." 

LANGUAGES. — Nothing,  in  respect  to  the  aborigines 
of  America,  has  excited  more  wonder  and  curiosity, 
than  their  languages.  Balbi,  who  has  summed  up  the 
labors  of  his  predecessors  with  great  industry,  states, 
that  among  the  10,000,000  Indians  of  the  whole  conti- 
nent, there  are  438  languages,  and  2000  dialects  ! 
Yet,  in  the  midst  of  this  prodigious  diversity,  so  re- 
markable an  analogy  of  structure  has  been  found  to 
pervade  them  all,  that  Mr.  Duponceau  has  classed  them 
under  one  genus. 

Among  the  savages  of  our  portion  of  the  continent, 


INDIANS    OF   NORTH   AMERICA.  265 

each  tribe  had  its  dialect ;  but  many  dialects  have  uni- 
formly been  found  referable  to  one  parent  stock.  Thus, 
the  Algonquin  language  appears  at  one  time  to  have 
been  spoken  over  a  greater  part  of  the  continent,  north 
of  the  Potomac,  and  east  of  the  Mississippi.  The  Knis- 
teneaux  or  Crees,  Micmacs,  Chippewas  or  Odjibwas, 
Ottawas,  Potawatomies,  the  Sacs  and  Foxes  or  Ottoga- 
mies,  the  Sha  wanese,  the  Kickapoos,  the  Menomonies, 
the  Miamis,  the  Delawares  or  Lenni  Lenapes  and  other 
tribes,  now  extinct,  spoke  Algonquin  dialects,  and  are 
therefore  classed  as  belonging  to  the  Algonquin  family. 

The  Wyandot  or  Huron  family  included  the  con- 
federacy called  the  Iroquois,  or  Six  Nations,  com- 
prising the  Mohawks,  Senecas,  Oneidas,  Cayugas, 
Onondagas  and  Tuscaroras,  and  the  Wyandots.  The 
Southern,  Floridian,  or  Mobilian  family,  comprised 
the  Cherokees,  Creeks,  Chickasaws,  and  Choctaws. 
The  Uchees  and  Natchez  tribes  were  blended  with  the 
former.  The  Seminoles  were  but  runaways  from 
these  other  tribes.  The  Sioux,  or  Dahcotak  family 
included  the  Winnebagos,  Dahcotahs,  Hohays,  or  As- 
sineboins,  Omahaws,  Mandans,  Kanzas,  Osages,  lo- 
ways,  Otoes,  Missouris,  Quapaws,  Mahas,  Puncahs, 
&c.  The  Pawnee  family  included  the  Pawnees,  Arra- 
pahoes,  Camanches,  &c.  The  Columbian,  family  in- 
cluded the  Flatheads,  Shoshonees,  Eshelotes.  &c. 

It  might  seem  in  vain  to  attempt  to  account  for  the 
phenomena  presented  by  the  American  languages ; 
their  origin  appears  to  be  as  inscrutable  as  that  of  the 
people  to  whom  they  belong.  Mr.  Bancroft  considers 
them  as  indigenous  to  the  country,  and  the  "  offspring 
of  the  instinctive  powers  of  man."  The  following  ex- 
v.— 23 


266  INDIANS   OF   NORTH   AMERICA. 

tracts  will  convey  an  idea  of  his  theory,  with  the 
grounds  upon  which  it  rests ;  as  well  as  of  some 
important  inferences  deduced  from  his  doctrine  on 
the  subject : 

"  The  study  of  the  structure  of  the  dialects  of  the 
red  men,  sheds  light  on  the  inquiry  into  their  condi- 
tion. Language  is  their  oldest  monument,  and  the 
record  and  image  of  their  experience.  No  savage 
horde  has  been  caught  with  it  in  a  state  of  chaos,  or  as 
if  just  emerging  from  the  rudeness  of  indistinguishable 
sounds.  No  American  language  bears  marks  of  being1 
an  arbitrary  aggregation  of  separate  parts ;  but  each 
is  possessed  of  an  entire  organization,  having  unity  of 
character,  and  controlled  by  exact  rules.  Each  ap- 
pears, not  as  a  slow  formation  by  painful  processes  of 
invention,  but  as  a  perfect  whole,  springing  directly 
from  the  powers  of  man.  A  savage  physiognomy  is 
imprinted  on  the  dialect  of  the  dweller  in  the  wilder- 
ness ;  but  each  dialect  is  still  not  only  free  from  con- 
fusion, but  is  almost  absolutely  free  from  irregulari- 
ties, and  is  pervaded  and  governed  by  undeviating 
laws. 

"  As  the  bee  builds  his  cell  regularly,  yet  without  the 
recognition  of  the  rules  of  geometry,  so  the  unreflect- 
ing savage,  in  the  use  of  words,  had  rule,  and  method 
and  completeness.  His  speech,  like  everything  else, 
underwent  change ;  but  human  pride  errs  in  believing 
that  the  art  of  cultivated  man  was  needed  to  resolve  it 
into  its  elements,  and  give  to  it  new  forms,  before  it 
could  fulfil  its  office.  Each  American  language  was 
competent  of  itself,  without  improvement  from  scholar- 
ship, to  exemplify  every  rule  of  the  logician,  and  give 


INDIANS    OF   NORTH   AMERICA.  267 

utterance  to  every  passion.  Each  dialect  that  has 
been  analyzed  has  been  found  to  be  rich  in  derivatives 
and  compounds,  in  combinations  and  forms.  As  cer- 
tain as  every  plant  which  draws  juices  from  the  earth 
has  root  and  sap  vessels,  bark  and  leaves,  so  certainly 
each  language  has  its  complete  organization — includ- 
ing the  same  parts  of  speech,  though  some  of  them 
may  be  concealed  in  mutual  coalitions.  Human  con- 
sciousness and  human  speech  exist  every  where,  in- 
dissolubly  united.  A  tribe  has  no  more  been  found 
without  an  organized  language,  than  without  eyesight 
or  memory. 

"  From  these  investigations,  two  momentous  con- 
clusions follow.  The  grammatical  forms  which  con- 
stitute the  organization  of  language,  are  not  the  work 
of  civilization,  but  of  nature.  It  is  not  writers,  nor  ar- 
bitrary conventions,  that  give  laws  to  language :  the 
forms  of  grammar ;  the  power  of  combinations,  the 
possibility  of  inversions,  spring  from  within  us,  and 
are  a  consequence  of  our  own  organization.  If  lan- 
guage is  a  human  invention,  it  was  the  invention  of 
savage  man ;  and  this  creation  of  barbarism  would  be 
a  higher  trophy  to  human  power  than  any  achieve- 
ment of  civilization.  The  study  of  these  rudest  dia- 
lects tends  to  prove,  if  it  does  not  conclusively  prove, 
that  it  was  not  man  who  made  language,  but  He  who 
made  man  g'ave  him  utterance." 

"  Another  and  a  more  certain  conclusion  is  this — 
that  the  ancestors  of  our  tribes  ^vere  rude  like  them- 
selves. It  has  been  asked  if  our  Indians  were  not  the 
wrecks  of  more  civilized  nations.  Their  language 
refutes  the  hypothesis;  every  one  of  its  forms  is  a 


263  INDIAN'S   OF   NORTH   AMERICA. 

witness  that  their  ancestors  were,  like  themselves,  not 
yet  disenthralled  from  nature.  The  character  of  each 
Indian  language  is  one  continued,  universal,  all-per- 
vading synthesis.  Those  to  whom  these  languages 
were  the  mother-tongue  were  still  in  that  earliest  age 
of  intellectual  culture,  where  reflection  has  not  begun." 
It  seems,  therefore,  that  Mr.  Bancroft's  view  is,  that 
organized  language  springs  from  the  instincts  of  sav- 
age man,  and  this  theory  is  offered  as  affording  a  so- 
lution of  the  remarkable  fact,  that  among  nearly  500 
various  languages  broken  into  2000  dialects,  there  is 
a  general  aspect  of  uniformity.  "  From  the  country 
of  the  Esquimaux  to  the  Strait  of  Magellan,"  says 
Humboldt,  "  mother-tongues,  entirely  different  in  their 
roots,  have,  if  we  may  use  the  expression,  the  same 
physiognomy."  It  would  seem  an  equally  rational 
exposition  of  this  phenomenon  to  suppose  that  all  the 
Indian  tribes  descended  from  one  family,  from  which 
they  derived  their  language,  and  that  this  in  the  course 
of  centuries  has  been  broken  into  the  multitudinous 
dialects  which  now  exist.  If  we  suppose  the  indivi- 
dual tribes,  or  the  heads  of  them,  amounting  to  seve- 
ral hundreds,  to  have  made  their  languages  independ- 
ently of  each  other,  it  is  indeed  an  astonishing  cir- 
cumstance that  they  should  all  bear  the  family  resem- 
blance which  Humboldt  notices.  The  supposition 
seems,  indeed,  to  imply  an  instinct  in  man,  like  that 
of  the  bee  in  framing  its  cells,  which  guides  them,  in 
all  lands,  to  adopt  Precisely  the  same  form  and  the 
same  angle ;  and  if  such  an  instinct  exists,  why  are 
not  the  languages  of  all  countries  alike,  or  at  least  so 
far  alike  as  to  possess  "  the  same  physiognomy  ?"  If  it 


INDIANS   OF   NORTH   AMERICA.  269 

be  said  that  Mr.  Bancroft's  remarks  are  to  be  applied 
only  to  the  great  American  family,  we  then  ask  how 
languages  so  radically  different  as  the  Celtic  and 
Teutonic,  should  corne  from  nearly  the  same  regions 
in  Asia.  These  suggestions  seem  to  present  a  for- 
midable objection  to  Mr.  Bancroft's  theory,  and  though 
his  opinion  is  entitled  to  great  respect,  we  must  still 
deem  the  origin  of  the  language  of  the  American 
tribes  as  an  open  question. 

ENDOWMENTS  OF  THE  INDIANS. — "  Hath  not  a  Jew 
eyes  ?  Hath  not  a  Jew  hands,  organs,  dimensions, 
senses,  affections,  passions?  fed  with  the  same  food, 
hurt  with  the  same  weapons,  subject  to  the  same  dis- 
eases, healed  by  the  same  means,  warmed  and  cooled 
by  the  same  winter  and  summer,  as  a  Christian  is? 
If  you  prick  us,  do  we  not  bleed  ?  If  you  tickle  us, 
do  we  not  laugh  ?  If  you  poison  us,  do  we  not  die  ? 
and  if  you  wrong  us,  shall  we  not  revenge  ?  If  we 
are  like  you  in  the  rest,  we  will  resemble  you  in  that. 
If  a  Jew  wrong  a  Christian,  what  is  his  humility  ? 
revenge.  If  a  Christian  wrong  a  Jew,  what  should 
his  sufferance  be  by  Christian  example?  why,  revenge. 
The  villany  you  teach  me,  I  will  execute  ;  and  it  shall 
go  hard,  but  I  will  better  the  instruction." 

Thus,  according  to  Shakspeare,  a  Jew  is  a  man.  In 
a  similar  vein  Mr.  Bancroft  says,  "  The  natives  of 
America  were  men  and  women  of  like  endowments 
with  their  more  cultivated  conquerors;  they  have 
the  same  affections  and  the  *  same  powers ;  are 
chilled  with  an  ague,  or  burn  with  a  fever.  We  may 
call  them  savage,  just  as  we  call  fruits  wild ;  natural 
right  governs  them.  They  revere  unseen  powers; 
23* 


270  INDIANS    OF   N7ORTH   AMERICA. 

they  respect  the  nuptial  ties ;  they  are  careful  of  their 
dead  ;  their  religion,  their  marriages  and  their  burials, 
show  them  possessed  of  the  habits  of  humanity  and 
bound  by  a  federative  compact  to  the  race.  They  had 
the  moral  faculty  which  can  recognize  the  distinction 
between  right  and  wrong. 

"  There  is  not  a  quality  belonging  to  the  white  man, 
which  did  not  also  belong  to  the  American  savage ; 
there  is  not  among  the  aborigines  a  rule  of  language, 
a  custom  or  an  institution,  which,  when  considered  ia 
its  principle,  has  not  a  counterpart  among  their  con- 
querors. The  unity  of  the  human  race  is  established 
by  the  exact  correspondence  between  their  respective 
powers ;  the  Indian  has  not  one  more,  has  not  one 
less  than  the  white  man ;  the  map  of  the  faculties  is 
for  both  identical." 

But  while  it  is  admitted  that  the  several  races  of 
men  possess  the  same  faculties  in  kind,  they  are  en- 
joyed in  very  different  degrees.  The  red  man  may 
be  said,  in  general,  to  possess  imitative,  rather  than  in- 
ventive faculties.  His  observation  is  quick  and  pene- 
trating. In  the  sagacity  of  the  senses,  he  rivals,  if 
not  surpasses,  the  white  man,  and  his  judgment  acting 
upon  these  is  sound.  But  in  abstraction — in  rising 
above  experience,  and  grouping  together  a  mass  of 
materials  for  the  deduction  of  general  truth,  of  prin- 
ciples, he  holds  a  secondary  rank.  In  his  powers  of 
reasoning,  and  perhaps  in  moral  qualities,  he  is  infe- 
rior to  his  white  brother.  It  is  said  that  they  have  a 
difficulty  in  comprehending  numbers,  and  some  of  the 
tribes  are  said  to  be  greatly  perplexed  in  carrying 
their  ideas  beyond  a  hundred.  Mr.  Flint  tells  us, 


INDIANS    OF   NORTH   AMERICA. 

that  when  a  question  turns  upon  a  point  that  involves 
great  numbers,  they  generally  avail  themselves  of  the 
English  word,  heap.  "  They  are  characterized," 
says  Mr.  Bancroft,  "  by  a  moral  inflexibility,  a  rigidity 
of  attachment  to  their  hereditary  customs  and  man- 
ners. The  birds  and  the  bees  as  they  chime  forth 
their  unwearied  canticles,  chime  them  ever  to  the  same 
ancient  melodies,  and  the  Indian  child,  as  it  grows  up, 
displays  a  propensity  to  the  habits  of  its  ancestors. 
His  determinateness  of  moral  character  is  marked  also 
in  the  organization  of  the  American  savage.  He  has 
little  flexibility  of  features,  or  transparency  of  skin  ; 
and  therefore,  if  he  depicts  his  passions,  it  is  by  strong 
contortions,  or  the  kindling  of  the  eye,  that  seems 
ready  to  burst  from  its  socket.  He  cannot  blush ; 
the  movement  of  his  blood  does  not  visibly  represent 
the  movement  of  his  affections  ;  for  him,  the  domain 
of  animated  beauty  is  circumscribed ;  he  cannot  paint 
to  the  eye  the  emotions  of  moral  sensibility." 

Such,  according  to  high  authorites,  are  some  of  the 
physical  characteristics, — the  native  endowments,  of 
the  American  savages ; — and  the  imperfect  success  of 
the  puritan  Eliot,  Brainard  and  Mayhew ;  of  the  Mo- 
ravian Loskiel ;  the  German  Heckewelder ;  the  Jesuit 
Casheil  and  others,  in  attempting  to  christianize  and 
civilize  them,  has  led  to  a  desponding  view  of  their 
capacity  for  civilization.  If,  however,  we  were  to 
take  the  delineations  furnished  by  Julius  Caesar  of  the 
early  Britons,  we  could  hardly  make  out  a  higher  in- 
tellectual and  moral  estimate  than  is  here  furnished 
of  the  Indians.  The  ancient  Celts,  as  well  as  the 
mass  of  the  modern  Irish,  are  often  depicted  as  pos- 


IMJLAX3    OF    SOUTH    AJ1ER1CA. 

sessing  qualities  peculiarly  adverse  to  the  diffusion  of 
knowledge  and  refinement  among  them.  Yet,  of  this 
stock  we  reckon  Swift,  Burke,  Grattan  and  Goldsmith, 
among  the  dead,  and  among  die  living,  Wellington, 
Moore  and  O'Connel.  We  are  not  disposed,  therefore, 
to  receive  these  disparaging  estimates  of  Indian  char- 
acter, as  excluding  hopes  of  their  redemption  from  sav- 
age life.  The  race  has  produced  a  Caupolican,  a  Lan- 
taro,  a  Logan,  Pontiac  and  Red  Jacket, — ornaments  of 
humanity  in  savage  life, — and  examples  of  brilliant  suc- 
cess at  the  bar,  and  in  the  church,  have  been  furnished. 

But  while  we  maintain  the  capacity  of  the  Indians 
for  civilization,  we  must  admit  that  their  present  con- 
dition is  one  of  the  deepest  degradation.  They  have 
now  lived  for  centuries  in  contact  with  the  whites, 
imbibing  their  vices  and  withering  beneath  the  scorn 
and  hatred  of  a  master  race.  The  following  dark 
picture  is  drawn  with  equal  truth  and  force. 

"  As  a  race,  they  have  countenances,  that  are  gen- 
erally unjoyous,  stern  and  ruminating.  It  is  with 
them,  either  gloomy  taciturnity,  or  bacchanalian  revel. 
When  you  hear  Indians  laughing,  you  may  generally 
infer  that  they  are  intoxicated.  An  Indian  seldom 
jests,  generally  speaks  low,  and  under  his  breath  ;  lo- 
quacity is  with  him  an  indication  of  being  a  trifling 
personage,  and  of  deeds  inversely  less,  as  his  words 
are  more.  Even  the  young  men  and  boys  have  a  sul- 
len, moody  and  thoughtful  countenance,  and  seem  to 
have  little  of  that  elastic  gaiety,  with  which  the  be- 
nevolence of  providence  has  endowed  the  first  days  of 
the  existence  of  most  other  beings.  From  this  general 
remark,  we  onght,  perhnp?,  to  except  the  squaw,  who 


INDIANS   OF   NORTH   AMERICA.  273 

shows  some  analogy  of  nature  to  the  white  female. — 
She  has  quicker  sensibilities,  is  more  easily  excited ; 
and  when  out  of  the  sight  of  her  husband  or  her  pa- 
rents, to  whom  these  things  are  matters  of  espionage, 
and  often  reprehension,  she  laughs  and  converses, 
and  seems  conscious  of  a  pleasurable  existence. 

"  The  males  evidently  have  not  the  quick  sensibilities, 
the  acute  perceptions  of  most  other  races.  They  do 
not  easily  or  readily  sympathize  with  external  nature. 
None  but  an  overwhelming  excitement  can  arouse 
yhem.  They  seem  callous  to  all  the  passions  but  rage. 
We  have  seen  fathers  in  their  cabins  caressing  their 
children ;  but  even  their  caressing  was  of  their  cus- 
tomary moody  and  stern  character,  and  as  if  they  were 
ashamed  to  do  it.  They  are  apparently  a  sullen, 
melancholy  and  musing  race,  who  appear  to  have 
whatever  they  have  of  emotion  or  excitement,  on  or- 
dinary occasions,  going  on  in  the  inner  man.  Every 
one  has  remarked  how  little  surprise  they  express  for 
whatever  is  new,  striking,  or  strange.  Their  contin- 
ual converse  with  woods,  rocks,  and  sterile  deserts, 
with  the  roar  of  winds  and  storms,  and  the  solitude 
and  gloom  of  the  wilderness ;  their  apparent  exile 
from  social  nature,  their  alternation  of  satiety  and 
hunger,  their  continual  exposure  to  danger ;  their  un- 
certain existence ;  their  constant  struggle  with  nature 
to  maintain  it ;  the  little  hold  which  their  affections 
seem  to  have  upon  life ;  the  wild,  savage  and  hostile 
nature  that  incessantly  surrounds  them ; — these  cir- 
cumstances seem  to  have  impressed  a  steady  and  un- 
alterable gloom  upon  their  countenances.  If  there  be, 
here  and  there  among  them,  a  young  man,  who  feels 

R 


274  INDIANS   OF   NORTH   AMERICA. 

the  freshness  and  vivacity  of  youthful  existence,  and 
shows  anything  of  the  gaiety  and  volatility  of  other 
animals  under  such  circumstances,  though  otherwise 
born  to  distinction,  he  is  denounced  as  a  trifling  thing; 
and  the  silent,  sullen  young  savages  will  naturally  take 
the  place  of  him.  They  seem  to  have  been  born  with  a 
distinctive  determination  to  be,  as  much  as  possible, 
independent  of  nature  and  society,  and  to  concentrate, 
as  much  as  possible,  within  themselves  an  existence, 
which,  at  any  moment,  they  seem  willing  to  lay  down. 

"  Their  impassable  fortitude  and  endurance  of  suffer- 
ing, their  contempt  of  pain  and  death,  invest  their 
character  with  a  kind  of  moral  grandeur.  It  is  to  be 
doubted,  whether  some  part  of  this  vaunted  stoicism, 
bs  not  the  result  of  a  more  than  ordinary  degree  of 
physical  insensibility.  It  has  been  said,  with  how 
much  truth  we  know  not,  that  in  amputations,  and 
other  surgical  operations,  their  nerves  do  not  shrink, 
or  show  the  same  tendency  to  spasm,  with  those  of 
the  whites.  When  the  savage,  to  explain  his  insensi- 
bility to  cold,  called  upon  the  white  man  to  recollect 
how  little  his  own  face  was  affected  by  it,  in  conse- 
quence of  constant  exposure,  the  savage  added  '  my 
body  is  all  face.'  This  increasing  insensibility,  trans- 
mitted from  generation  to  generation,  finally  becomes 
inwrought  with  the  whole  web  of  animal  nature,  and 
the  body  of  the  savage  at  last  approximates  the  insen- 
sibility of  the  hoofs  of  horses.  Considering  the 
necessary  condition  of  savage  existence,  this  tempera- 
ment is  the  highest  boon  of  providence. 

"  Of  course,  no  ordinary  stimulus  excites  them  to 
action.  Few  of  the  common  motives,  excitements  or 


INDIANS   OF   NORTH   AMERICA.  275 

endearments,  operate  upon  them  at  all.  Most  of  the 
things  that  move  us,  they  either  do  not  feel,  or  hold 
in  proud  disdain.  The  horrors  of  their  dreadful  war- 
fare ;  the  infernal  rage  of  their  battles ;  the  demoniac 
fury  of  gratified  revenge  ;  the  alternations  of  hope  and 
despair  in  their  gambling,  to  which  they  are  addicted, 
even  beyond  the  whites ;  the  brutal  exhilaration  of 
drunkenness  ; — these  are  their  pleasurable  excitements. 
These  are  the  things  that  awaken  them  to  a  strong 
and  joyous  consciousness  of  existence.  When  these 
excitements  arouse  the  imprisoned  energies  of  their 
long  and  sullen  meditations,  it  is  like  ./Eolus  un- 
caging the  whirlwinds.  The  tomahawk  flies  with 
unpitying  and  unsparing  sway,  and  the  writhing  of 
their  victims  inspires  a  horrible  joy.  Let  the  benevo- 
lent make  every  exertion  to  ameliorate  their  character 
and  condition.  Let  Christianity  arouse  every  effort 
to  convey  her  pity,  mercy,  and  immortal  hopes  to 
their  rugged  bosoms.  But  surely,  it  is  preposterous 
to  admire  the  savage  character  in  the  abstract.  Let 
us  never  undervalue  the  comfort  and  security  of  mu- 
nicipal and  civilized  life  ;  nor  the  sensibilities,  chari- 
ties and  endowments  of  our  own  homes.  The  happi- 
ness of  savages,  steeled  against  sympathy  and  feeling, 
at  war  with  nature,  with  the  elements,  and  with  each 
other,  can  have  no  existence,  except  in  the  visionary 
dreaming  of  those,  who  never  contemplated  their  ac- 
tual condition." 

ANTIQUITIES. — The  antiquities  of  the  North  Ameri- 
can Indians,  may  be  divided  into  two  classes, — the 
ornaments,  rude  inscriptions  and  paintings,  arrow- 
heads, pipes,  stone  vessels  and  weapons,  &c.,  all  of 


276  INDIANS    OF   NORTH   AMERICA. 

which  resemble  those  still  in  use  by  the  existing 
tribes,  and  which  are,  of  course,  referable  to  the  pres- 
ent race.  They  are  evidently  the  work  of  mere  sav- 
ages, yet  they  give  indications  of  that  mechanical 
talent,  which  is  a  trait  of  nearly  the  whole  Indian 
family.  With  the  exception  of  the  Esquimaux,  whom 
we  have  not  included  in  our  sketch,  there  are  no  indi- 
cations of  architectural  or  military  structures,  evincing 
much  art,  which  appear  to  be  the  work  of  the  present 
tribes,  or  their  immediate  ancestors.  Numerous  tu- 
muli, or  mounds,  sometimes  of  earth,  and  sometimes 
mere  heaps  of  stones,  covering  human  bones,  and 
hence  known  to  be  burial  places,  are  found  throughout 
the  western  country ;  some  of  these  are  supposed  to 
be  the  work  of  modern  tribes,  while  others  are  of  more 
ancient  date. 

Having  already  noticed  the  antiquities  of  Mexico 
and  Central  America,  the  former  referable  to  the  Az- 
tecs, and  the  latter  to  their  predecessors,  the  Toitecs, 
we  have  now  only  to  give  a  brief  account  of  those  re- 
mains of  past  generations  to  be  found  in  the  United 
States. 

The  first  class  of  these  vestiges,  consists  of  articles 
of  mechanical  skill,  found  in  ancient  graves,  mounds 
and  walls.  Among  them  are  many  curious  specimens 
of  pottery.  On  the  banks  of  the  Ohio,  has  been  found 
a  pitcher  of  clay,  very  nicely  modelled,  in  the  shape 
of  a  bottle-gourd,  the  neck  being  formed  in  imitation 
of  a  woman's,  with  clubbed  hair.  At  Nashville, 
twenty  feet  below  the  earth,  a  vessel  was  discovered 
with  a  flat  bottom,  and  standing  upwards,  the  top,  or 
mouth,  having  ihe  shapp  of  a  female  head,  covered 


INDIANS   OF  NORTH   AMERICA.  277 

with  a  cap,  and  the  ears  extending  to  the  chin.  Near 
an  ancient  rock  on  the  Cumberland  river,  a  vessel  has 
been  found,  the  top  of  which  represents  three  heads, 
joined  together  at  the  back  by  a  hollow  stem.  The 
heads  represent  three  different  countenances,  two 
young'and  the  other  old.  The  faces  are  partly  painted 
with  red  and  yellow,  the  colors  still  preserving  greal 
brilliancy.  The  features  are  distinguished  by  thick 
lips,  high  cheek  bones,  the  absence  of  a  beard,  and  the 
pointed  shape  of  the  head. 

An  idol  discovered  in  a  tumulus  at  Nashville  pre- 
sents the  figure  of  a  man  without  arms,  and  the  nose 
and  chin  mutilated.  Colored  medals,  representing 
the  sun  with  its  rays,  and  idols  of  other  forms,  with 
arms,  containing  calcined  human  bones,  (some  of  very 
elegant  models,)  have  been  found.  Many  of  the  an- 
cient vessels  of  earthen  ware  were  of  great  size  ;  one, 
discovered  eighty  feet  below  the  surface,  was  of  a  ca- 
pacity to  hold  ten  gallons,  and  others  still  larger  have 
been  met  with.  In  a  mound  lately  opened  at  Lancas- 
ter, Ohio,  a  vessel  composed  of  clay  and  broken  shells, 
measuring  eighteen  feet  in  length  and  six  in  width, 
has  been  discovered. 

*"  These  articles  of  pottery  vary  much  in  their  struc- 
ture. The  material  is  either  simply  clay — that  sub- 
stance united  with  pulverized  sandstone  or  calcareous 
matter — or  a  composition  as  well  calculated  as  our 
chemical  vessels  to  encounter  a  high  degree  of  heat, 
and  formed  upon  scientific  principles.  Some  of  them, 
appear  to  have  been  painted  before  burning,  are  skil- 

*For  our  view  of  the  Antiquities  of  the  United  States,  we 
are  indebted  to  the  excellent  treatise,  entitled  "  American  An 
ti^niths,"  &;c.,  by  Alexander  \V.  Bradford. 
v.— 31 


27S  INDIANS    OF   NORTH   AMERICA. 

fully  wrought  and  polished,  well  glazed  and  burned, 
and  are  inferior  to  our  own  manufactures  in  no  re- 
spect. There  exist  other  specimens,  of  ancient  origin, 
corroborating  this  view  of  the  chemical  knowledge  of 
their  authors.  At  Hamburg,  in  the  State  of  New  York, 
within  an  urn  in  the  interior  of  a  mound,  curious  beads 
have  been  found  deposited,  consisting  of  transparent 
green  glass,  covered  with  an  opaque  red  enamel,  be- 
neath which  and  in  the  tube  of  the  bead  was  a  beauti- 
ful white  enamel,  indicative  of  great  art  in  its  forma- 
tion. On  opening  an  old  grave  at  Big  River,  in  the 
state  of  Missouri,  whose  antiquity  was  sufficiently  at- 
tested by  a  heavy  growth  of  forest  trees  over  the  spot, 
beads  of  similar  shape,  appearance  and  composition 
have  also  been  brought  to  light. 

"The  bricks  discovered  in  the  mounds  appear  to  have 
been  formed  after  the  modern  method,  and  are  well 
burnt;  those  found  in  the  ancient  fortifications  are  of 
similar  construction  and  appearance,  with  the  excep- 
tion of  possessing  a  lighter  color. 

"  The  art  of  working  in  stone,  and  other  hard  sub- 
stances, was  carried  to  a  considerable  degree  of  per- 
fection by  this  people ;  and  beads  of  bone  and  shell, 
carved  bones,  and  hewn  and  sculptured  stones  are  by 
no  means  rare.  Their  weapons  and  implements  were 
often  formed  from  the  oldest  and  hardest  of  rocks ; 
and  arrow-heads,  axes,  and  hatchets  of  granite,  and 
hornblende,  nicely  cut  and  polished,  are  of  frequent 
occurrence.  The  covers  of  some  of  the  urns  are  com- 
posed of  calcareous  breccia,  skilfully  wrought;  the 
pieces  of  stone  worn  as  ornaments,  and  found  interred 
with  the  dead,  have  been  drilled  and  worked  into  pre- 
cise shapes,  and  the  pipe-bowls  are  adorned  with  beau- 


INDIANS   OF   NORTH   AMERICA.  279 

tifully  carved  reliefs.  An  idol  of  stone,  representing 
the  human  features,  has  been  found  at  Natchez,  the 
sculptured  head  and  beak  of  a  rapacious  bird  in  a 
mound  at  Cincinnati,  and  an  owl  carved  in  stone  at 
Columbus,  Ohio.  The  most  singular  of  these  sculp- 
tures has  been  discovered  on  the  banks  of  the  Missis- 
sippi, near  St.  Louis.  This  is  a  tabular  mass  of  lime- 
stone bearing  the  impression  of  two  human  feet.  The 
rock  is  a  compact  limestone  of  grayish-blue  color,  con- 
taining the  encrinite,  echinite,  and  other  fossils.  The 
feet  are  quite  flattened,  but  the  muscular  marks  are 
delineated  with  great  precision.  Immediately  before 
the  feet  lies  a  scroll,  sculptured  in  a  similar  style. 

"The  opinion  sometimes  entertained,  that  these  are 
actual  impressions  of  the  human  feet,  made  upon  a 
soft  substance  subsequently  indurated,  is  incorrect;  on 
the  contrary,  they  are  undoubtedly  the  result  of  art, 
and  exhibit  an  extraordinary  analogy  with  similar  ap- 
pearances in  Asia  and  in  Central  America. 

"Ancient  inscriptions  upon  rocks  have  also  been  ob- 
served. Dr.  Barton  examined  some,  on  a  large  stra- 
tum of  rock  upon  the  east  shore  of  the  Ohio,  about 
fifty  miles  below  Pittsburg,  and  found  them  in  great 
numbers,  and  apparently  '  the  work  of  a  people  ac- 
quainted with  the  use  of  iron  instruments,  or  with 
hardened  metallic  instruments  of  some  kind.'  Upon 
one  of  the  branches  of  the  Tennessee  river  are  perpen- 
dicular rocks,  on  which,  more  than  one  hundred  feet 
above  the  present  high-water  mark,  are  representa- 
tions of  beasts,  birds,  and  other  figures. 

"  Near  the  confluence  of  the  Elk  and  Kanhawa  riv- 
ers, in  the  western  part  of  Virginia,  Bishop  Madison 


2SO  INDIANS    OF   NORTH   AMERICA. 

observed  some  remarkable  remains  of  sculpture. 
Upon  the  surface  of  a  rock  of  freestone  lying  on  the 
margin  of  the  river,  about  twelve  feet  in  length  and 
nine  in  breadth,  he  saw  the  outlines  of  several  figures, 
cut  without  relief,  except  in  one  instance,  and  some- 
what larger  than  the  life.  The  depth  of  the  outline 
was  about  half  an  inch,  and  its  width  three  quarters, 
nearly,  in  some  places.  '  In  one  line,  ascending  from 
the  part  of  the  rock  nearest  the  river,  there  is  a  tor- 
toise ;  a  spread  eagle  executed  with  great  expression, 
particularly  the  head,  to  which  is  given  a  shallow  re- 
lief; and  a  child,  the  outline  of  which  is  very  well 
drawn.  In  a  parallel  line  there  are  other  figures,  but 
among  them  that  of  a  woman  only  can  be  traced : 
these  are  very  indistinct.  Upon  the  side  of  the  rock 
there  are  two  awkward  figures  which  particularly 
caught  my  attention.  One  is  that  of  a  man,  with  his 
arms  uplifted  and  hands  spread  out,  as  if  engaged  in 
prayer.  His  head  is  made  to  terminate  in  a  point, 
or  rather  he  has  the  appearance  of  something  upon 
the  head,  of  a  triangular  or  conical  form  :  near  to  him 
is  another  singular  figure,  suspended  by  a  cord  fastened 
to  his  heels.'  'A  turkey,  badly  executed,  with  a  few 
other  figures,  may  also  be  seen.  The  labor  and  the 
perseverance  requisite  to  cut  those  rude  figures  in  a 
rock,  so  hard  that  steel  appeared  to  make  but  little 
impression  upon  it,  must  have  been  great,  much  more 
so  than  making  of  enclosures  in  a  loose  and  fertile  soil.' 
"  Many  metallic  remains  have  also  been  discovered 
among  the  ancient  ruins,  some  quite  perfect,  and  oth- 
ers in  a  state  of  decomposition.  Copper  appears  to 
have  been  in  the  most  general  use.  It  has  been 


INDIANS    OF    NORTH    AMERICA.  281 

found  in  the  mounds,  either  in  irregular  masses  or 
worked  into  various  forms,  and  sometimes  plated  with 
silver.  Arrow-head?,  bracelets,  circular  plates  or 
medals,  beads,  a  cross,  and  pipe-bowls,  all  composed 
of  this  metal,  have  been  disinterred  from  the  tumuli. 

"One  of  the  ancient  mounds  at  Marietta,  Ohio,  was 
situated  on  the  margin  of  a  stream,  which  had  gradu- 
ally washed  a\vay  the  surrounding  soil  and  part  of  the 
structure  itself,  when  a  silver  cup  was  observed  in  the 
side  of  the  mound.  Its  form  was  extremely  simple 
and  resembled  some  of  the  earthenware  patterns,  be- 
ing an  inverted  cone.  It  consisted  of  solid  silver,  its 
surfaces  were  smooth  and  regular,  and  its  interior  was 
finely  gilded. 

"  Circumstances  favor  the  idea,  that  the  authors  of 
the  western  antiquities  were  in  the  habit  of  working 
many  of  the  salt  springs,  for  the  manufacture  of  that 
article.  At  the  state  salt-works  in  Illinois  occurs  a 
large  excavation,  four  hundred  feet  in  circumference, 
in  which  a  deep  well  has  formerly  been  sunk.  In 
digging  at  this  place,  ashes,  and  fragments  of  pottery 
were  discovered  in  great  abundance ;  and  a  drain  has 
been  found,  so  connected  with  the  works  as  to  justify 
the  inference  of  its  being  intended  to  carry  away  the 
surplus  water.  The  earthenware  found  here  is  at  vas*- 
depths  below  the  surface,  and  it  resembles  in  compo- 
sition the  specimens  occurring  in  the  ancient  mounds. 
At  Harrisonville,  in  St.  Clair  county,  and  near  the 
Ohio  saline,  the  presence  of  broken  pottery  and  other 
appearances  authorize  similar  conclusions ;  particu- 
larly the  shape  of  the  vessels,  which  may  very  welJ 
have  served  as  evaporator?. 
24* 


282  INDIANS    OF   NORTH   AMERICA. 

"The  antiquities  discovered  in  the  western  caves  are 
of  a  remarkable  character,  and  have  excited  much 
speculation.  They  cannot  be  ascribed  to  the  present 
tribes  of  Indians,  in  consequence  of  the  very  general 
reverence  in  which  caverns  are  held  by  them.  They 
view  them  with  deeply  superstitious  feelings,  esteem- 
ing them  as  the  residence  of  the  Great  Spirit,  and 
never  appearing  there  for  any  other  purpose  than  for 
the  occasional  celebration  of  solemn  religious  festivals. 
In  the  saltpetre  caves  of  Gasconade  county,  Missouri, 
axes,  hammers,  and  other  implements  have  been  found, 
which  are  probably  of  identical  origin  with  some  an- 
cient works  in  the  vicinity.  Below  the  falls  of  St. 
Anthony  is  another  cavern,  distinguished  for  its  great 
length,  and  called,  in  the  Indian  language,  '  The 
dwelling  of  the  Great  Spirit.'  The  walls  are  com- 
posed of  a  soft  stone,  easily  yielding  to  the  knife,  and 
they  contain  many  hieroglyphical  figures,  so  covered 
with  moss  and  defaced  by  time  as  to  be  traced  with 
great  difficulty. 

"Within  the  saltpetre  cave  in  Warren  county,  Ten- 
nessee, two  bodies  have  been  discovered,  interred  in  a 
sitting  posture  in  baskets  made  of  cane,  the  hip  joints 
dislocated,  and  the  legs  brought  up  close  to  the  body. 
One  of  them  was  a  male  and  the  other  a  female. 
Great  care  had  manifestly  been  taken  to  secure  them 
a  durable  preservation,  and  at  the  period  of  discovery 
the  flesh,  teeth,  hair,  and  nails  were  still  entire.  They 
were  enveloped  in  dressed  deer-skins,  and  in  a  species 
of  cloth,  of  firm  texture,  woven  from  the  fibres  of  the 
nettle,  or  from  bark,  and  overlaid  with  the  most  bril- 
liant feathers  of  various  hues,  symmetrically  arranged ; 


INDIANS   OF   NORTH   AMERICA.  283 

another  covering,  of  undressed  deer-skin,  succeeded, 
and  the  exterior  wrapper  was  cloth  of  the  same  kind, 
but  unornamented.  The  female  had  a  fan  in  her 
hand,  composed  of  turkey  feathers  so  disposed,  that  it 
might  be  opened  and  closed. 

"  Human  bodies  have  been  discovered  near  the  Cum- 
berland river,  in  the  same  state  ;  in  the  nitrous  caves 
near  Glasgow,  and  in  the  Mammoth  Cave,  in  Ken- 
tucky 5  all  placed  in  the  same  sitting  position,  clothed 
in  skins  and  cloths  of  various  textures,  inlaid  with 
feathers — the  bodies  remaining  in  a  high  state  of  pre- 
servation, and  the  hair  generally  of  a  color  varying 
from  brown  to  yellow  and  red.  This  last  peculiarity 
has  given  rise  to  many  fanciful  conjectures  concern- 
ing the  race  to  which  the  skeletons  may  be  ascribed. 
Within  the  same  caves  many  other  miscellaneous  ar- 
ticles have  been  found,  far  below  the  surface, — such 
as  bows  and  arrows,  earthenware,  fishing  nets,  cloths, 
mats,  cane  baskets,  beads,  wooden  cups,  moccasons  of 
bark,  various  utensils  and  relics  indicative  of  the  char- 
acter of  the  deceased  with  whom  they  were  buried ; 
and,  more  singular  still,  the  bones  of  the  peccari  or 
Mexican  hog,  an  animal  not  indigenous  to  the  United 
States,  but  belonging  to  the  more  southern  climates. 
In  general,  these  caves  have  been  great  cemeteries  of 
the  dead,  for  bodies  are  being  continually  disinterred 
from  the  earth  within  them,  and  more  than  a  hundred 
human  skulls  have  been  counted  in  one  cave,  within 
a  space  of  twenty  feet  square. 

"  The  second  class  of  Antiquities  in  the  United 
States,  proceeding  from  the  same  ancient  people,  ex- 
hibits, in  an  extended  view,  decisive  proof  of  the  im- 


INDIANS    OF    NORTH   AMERICA. 

mense  numbers  and  advanced  social  condition  of  their 
authors.  It  comprehends  the  Mural  Remains,  or  en- 
closures— formed  by  earthen  embankments  and  trench- 
es ;  which  appear  most  numerously  in  the  district 
bordering-  upon  the  Mississippi  and  its  branches,  and 
in  the  vicinity  of  the  great  lakes  and  their  tributaries; 
though  they  rnay  be  found  stretching  at  intervals 
from  New  York  to  Florida,  and  from  the  Territory 
west  of  the  Mississippi  to  the  Alleghanies." 

We  cannot  here  enter  into  a  minute  detail,  fespect- 
ing  these  interesting  relics  ;  we  can  do  little  more  than 
give  a  hasty  enumeration  of  the  most  prominent. 
On  the  banks  of  the  Genesee,  there  existed  works, 
of  an  apparently  military  character,  enclosing  an  area 
of  nearly  six  acres.  These  were  surrounded  on  three 
sides  by  a  circular  fosse,  crossed  by  six  entrances. 
On  the  open  side  was  a  high  natural  bank,  through 
which  a  covered  way  led  down  to  a  neighboring  stream. 
At  a  short  distance  to  the  south,  were  similar  works,  of 
even  a  more  striking  character.  On  the  river  Tona- 
wonde  were  two  forts,  one  enclosing  four  and  the 
other  eight  acres.  In  the  town  of  Pompey  were  for- 
merly the  remains  of  a  fortified  town,  containing  more 
than  five  hundred  acres.  This  was  defended  by  three 
elliptical  forts,  about  eight  miles  distant  from  each 
other.  Many  other  similar  remains  of  fortifications 
and  fortified  towns,  amounting  to  at  least  a  hundred, 
have  been  found  in  the  State  of  New  York,  between 
the  head  waters  of  the  Delaware  and  Lake  Erie. 
They  are  generally  of  regular  forms,  oblong,  circular, 
triangular  or  elliptical :  and  they  are  now  obliterated 
by  cultivation,  or  overgrown  by  krge  forest  trees. 


INDIANS   OF   NORTH   AMERICA.  285 

In  the  western  parts  of  Virginia,  there  are  similar 
remains.  In  Georgia  are  "  many  very  magnificent 
monuments  of  the  power  and  industry  of  the  ancient 
inhabitants, "consisting  in  one  instance  of  traces  of  an 
extensive  town,  a  stupendous  terraced  pyramid.  &c.; 
and  in  others,  of  towns,  fortifications  and  tumuli.  Near 
Petersburg,  on  the  Savannah  river,  is  a  truncated 
mound,  fifty  feet  high,  and  eight  hundred  in  circum- 
ference. A  spiral  path  leads  to  the  top,  and  there  are 
four  niches  at  the  four  cardinal  points.  Several  infe- 
rior mounds  are  dispersed  around  it.  Many  similar 
remains  extend  through  the  whole  country,  from  the 
Ohio  to  Florida,  seeming  to  present  a  continuous  line, 
pointing  out  the  abodes  of  generations,  long  since 
passed  away. 

Antiquities,  similar  to  those  we  have  described, 
abound  in  Ohio.  "  At  Marietta,  within  the  city  limits, 
some  years  since,  there  were  two  large,  oblong  enclo- 
sures, and  a  conical  mound  ;  the  largest  of  the  en- 
closures contained  forty,  and  the  other  twenty  acres 
of  ground.  They  were  encompassed  by  ramparts  of 
earth,  from  six  to  ten  feet  high,  and  thirty  feet  in 
breadth  at  the  base,  and  on  each  side  were  three  gate- 
ways, at  equal  distances  apart.  A  sort  of  covert  way, 
formed  of  two  parallel  walls,  two  hundred  and  thirty- 
one  feet  apart,  defended  the  approach  to  the  Muskin- 
gum ;  the  walls  were  forty-two  feet  wide  at  the  base, 
twenty-one  feet  high  within,  and  five  feet  high  on  the 
outer  sides.  A  line  of  smaller  parallel  walls  leads 
down  to  the  water  from  the  corner  of  the  fortification. 
Within  the  area  enclosed,  at  the  north-west  corner, 
was  an  oblong  terrace,  nine  feet  high  ;  at  the  middle 


286  INDIANS   OF    NORTH    AMERICA. 

of  each  of  its  sides  the  earth  was  projected,  forming 
gradual  ascents  to  the  top,  ten  feet  in  width.  Near 
the  south  wall  was  another  terrace,  nearly  similar ; 
at  the  south-east  corner  was  another ;  about  the  middle 
was  a  circular  elevation ;  and  at  the  south-west  cor- 
ner was  a  semicircular  parapet,  covered  with  a  mound, 
which  guarded  the  gateway  or  entrance  in  that 
quarter. 

"  The  other  enclosure  had  a  gateway  in  the  middle 
of  each  side,  and  at  the  corners  was  defended  by  cir- 
cular mounds.  A  short  distance  from  its  south-east 
side  was  a  conical  mound,  one  hundred  and  fifteen 
feet  in  diameter,  thirty  feet  high,  and  surrounded  by 
a  ditch  and  embankment,  through  which  there  was  a 
gateway  opening  towards  the  fortification.  The  mound 
was  protected  in  addition  by  outworks,  and  parapets, 
and  other  mounds.  There  were  also  found  here  ex- 
cavations,— originally  of  great  size  and  depth, — still 
perceptible ;  which  were  probably  wells,  and  supplied 
the  inhabitants  with  water." 

Near  Newark,  in  Licking  county,  another  extensive 
series  of  fortifications  existed.  "  At  Circleville,  Ohio, 
there  were  two  earthen  enclosures,  one  an  exact  circle, 
and  the  other  a  precise  square,  with  its  sides  facing 
the  cardinal  points,  under  no  greater  variation  than 
that  of  the  needle.  The  square  enclosure  had  eight 
entrances,  equidistant,  and  all  defended  by  circular 
mounds  within ;  each  side  was  fifty-nine  rods  in 
length,  and  the  wall  ten  feet  high.  Upon  its  west 
side  it  was  immediately  connected  with  the  circular 
enclosure,  which  was  sixty-nine  rods  in  diameter,  and 
encompassed  by  double  walls,  twenty  feet  high,  with 


INDIANS    OF   NORTH   AMERICA.  287 

a  diVck  intervening  between  them.  In  the  centre  of 
this  circle  was  a  mound,  with  a  curious  semicircular 
pavement  on  its  eastern  side  ;  and  a  short  distance 
without  the  walls  stood  another  mound,  ninety  feet 
Ugh." 

Kentucky,  Illinois,  Missouri,  and  indeed  the  whole 
surface  of  the  great  valley  of  the  west,  is  strewn  with 
remains  similar  to  those  we  have  noticed.  They  have 
been  more  carefully  examined  in  the  settled  districts, 
and  especially  in  Ohio ;  but  doubtless  many  yet  re- 
main buried  in  the  forests,  or  encumbered  with  vege- 
tation, which  have  yet  hardly  attracted  even  the  casual 
notice  of  the  hunter  or  the  traveller. 

"  The  last  order  of  these  antiquities  in  the  United 
States  consists  of  Mounds,  which  are  square,  oblong, 
or  circular  at  the  base,  and  conical  or  flat  at  the  sum- 
mit. They  are  either  tumuli,  terraced  elevations  in 
the  vicinity  of  the  mural  remains,  or  truncated  py- 
ramidal erections.  The  tumuli  are  always  the  repo- 
sitories of  the  dead,  and  it  is  probable  most  of  the  other 
mounds  may  have  served,  secondarily,  as  sepulchres ; 
though  the  principal  object  of  many,  contiguous  to  the 
fortifications,  was  unquestionably  defensive,  while  the 
purpose  of  others,  and  particularly  of  the  larger  trun- 
cated pyramids,  was  religious." 

Most  of  the  ancient  tumuli  consist  of  earth,  though 
there  are  some  of  stone.  In  their  bosoms  are  gen- 
erally found  ashes,  calcined  bones,  and  charred 
wood,  enclosed  in  tombs  made  of  flat  pieces  of  stone. 
At  Cincinnati  was  one  of  these  mounds,  60  feet 
broad,  and  620  long  ;  it  was  of  an  oval  shape,  adjust- 
ed to  the  cardinal  points,  and  contained  articles  made 


INDIANS    OF   SOUTH   AMERICA. 

of  jasper,  crystal  arid  coal ;  carved  bones,  beads,  lead, 
copper,  plates  of  mica,  marine  shells  formed  into  uten 
sils,  and  the  sculptured  head  of  a  bird  of  prey. 

"  So  common  are  these  tumuli,  that  on  the  Cahokia, 
nearly  opposite  to  St.  Louis,  in  the  State  of  Illinois, 
within  a  circuit  of  four  to  seven  miles,  there  are  up- 
wards of  one  hundred  and  fifty  mounds.  One  of  these, 
called  the  Monk  mound,  from  having  been  occupied 
by  some  friars  of  the  order  of  La  Trappe,  is  truncated, 
and  in  the  form  of  a  parallelogram,  stretching  from 
the  north  to  the  south.  Its  height  is  ninety  feet,  and 
the  circumference  of  its  base  has  been  estimated  to  be 
from  two  thousand  to  two  thousand  four  hundred 
feet.  Upon  the  southern  side  is  a  terrace,  twenty 
feet  lower  than  the  summit,  which  formerly  was  ap- 
proached by  an  inclined  plane,  projecting  from  its 
middle,  about  fifteen  feet  wide.  The  arrangement  of 
some  of  the  smaller  mounds  appears  to  have  been 
made  with  reference  to  this ;  and  the  mounds  of 
another  group,  near  by,  are  symmetrically  placed  in 
the  form  of  a  semicircle.  Arrow-heads,  earthenware, 
and  human  bones  have  been  discovered  in  the  vicini- 
ty, and  by  excavations  into  the  body  of  the  Monk 
mound." 

We  cannot  enter  into  further  details  respecting 
these  interesting  relics,  but  must  refer  the  reader  to 
the  source  already  indicated,  for  a  full  view  of  the 
subject.  It  may  be  sufficient  to  state,  in  respect  to 
the  number  of  these  ancient  mounds  and  fortifications, 
that  a  careful  author  has  said,  "  The  traces  of  them 
are  astonishingly  numerous  in  the  western  country. 
I  should  not  exaggerate  if  I  were  to  say  that  five  thou- 


INDIANS    OF   NORTH   AMERICA.  289 

sand  might  be  found,  some  of  them  enclosing  more 
than  a  hundred  acres." 

The  antiquity  of  these  remains  is  attested  by  a 
variety  of  circumstances,  though  it  is  not  to  be  sup- 
posed that  they  are  all  of  contemporaneous  origin. 
They  prove  that  these  regions  have  been  swept  over, 
in  the  dim  and  distant  ocearn  of  the  past,  by  succes- 
sive waves  of  population,  all  of  them  marked  with 
traces  of  civilization  which  distinguish  them  from 
the  modern  Indian  tribes.  Whence  and  when  these 
people  came,  and  whither  they  emigrated,  are  ques- 
tions to  which  no  certain  answer  can  be  returned. 
After  a  careful  survey  of  the  whole  subject,  Mr. 
Bradford  has  arrived  at  the  following  conclusions, 
which  are  perhaps  all  that  can  be  ascertained  upon 
the  subject. 

"  1.  That  they  were  all  of  the  same  origin,  branch- 
es of  the  same  race,  and  possessed  of  similar  customs 
and  institutions. 

"  2.  That  they  were  populous,  and  occupied  a  great 
extent  of  territory. 

"  3.  That  they  had  arrived  at  a  considerable  degree 
of  civilization,  were  associated  in  large  communities, 
and  lived  in  extensive  cities. 

"  4.  That  they  possessed  the  use  of  many  of  the 
metals,  such  as  lead,  copper,  gold  and  silver,  and  pro- 
bably the  art  of  working  in  them. 

"  5.  That  they  sculptured  in  stone,  and  sometimes 
used  that  material  in  the  construction  of  their  edifices. 

"  6.  That  they  had  the  knowledge  of  the  arch  of 
receding  steps  ;  of  the  art  of  pottery, — producing 
utensils  and  urns  formed  with  taste,  and  constructed 
s  T.— 25 


290  INDIANS    OF  NORTH   AMERICA, 

upon  the  principles  of  chemical  composition  ;  and  of 
the  art  of  brick-making. 

"  7.  That  they  worked  the  salt  springs,  and  manu- 
factured that  substance. 

"  8.  That  they  were  an  agricultural  people,  living 
under  the  influence  and  protection  of  regular  forms 
of  government. 

"  9.  That  they  possessed  a  decided  system  of  reli- 
gion, and  a  mythology  connected  with  astronomy, 
which,  with  its  sister  science  geometry,  was  in  the 
hands  of  the  priesthood. 

"  10.  That  they  were  skilled  in  the  art  of  fortifica- 
tion. 

"  11.  That  the  epoch  of  their  original  settlement,  in 
the  United  States,  is  of  great  antiquity ;  and, 

"  Lastly,  That  the  only  indications  of  their  origin, 
to  be  gathered  from  the  locality  of  their  ruined  monu- 
ments, point  towards  Mexico." 

We  close  this  topic  by  an  extract  from  Flint. — 
"  These  vestiges  of  the  past  are  generally  found  on 
fertile  wooded  bottoms,  plains,  or  the  richer  alluvial 
prairies,  where  wild  fruits,  game  and  fish  are  abun- 
dant and  at  hand.  The  most  dense  ancient  population 
existed  precisely  in  the  places  where  the  most  crowd- 
ed future  population  will  exist  in  the  generations  to 
come.  The  appearance  of  a  series  of  mounds  gene- 
rally indicates  the  contiguity  of  rich  and  level  lands, 
easy  communications,  fish,  game,  and  the  most  favor- 
able adjacent  positions.  The  only  circumstance,  which 
strongly  discredits  their  having  been  formed  by  the 
progenitors  of  the  present  Indians,  is  the  immensity 
of  the  size  of  some  of  them,  beyond  what  could  be  ex- 


INDIANS    OF    NORTH   AMERICA.  29- 

pected  from  the  sparse  population  and  the  indolence 
of  the  present  race.  We  know  of  no  monuments, 
which  they  now  raise  for  their  dead,  that  might  not  be 
the  work  of  a  few  people  in  a  few  days.  We  have 
seen  mounds,  which  would  require  the  labor  of  a 
thousand  of  the  men  employed  on  our  canals,  with  all 
their  mechanical  aids,  and  the  improved  implements 
of  their  labor  for  months.  We  have,  more  than  once, 
hesitated  in  view  of  one  of  these  prodigious  mounds, 
whether  it  were  not  really  a  natural  hill.  But  they 
are  uniformly  so  placed,  in  reference  to  the  adjoining 
country,  and  their  conformation  is  so  unique  and  sim- 
ilar, that  no  eye  hesitates  long  in  referring  them  to 
the  class  of  artificial  erections.  The  largest,  that  has 
been  discovered  in  the  Ohio  valley,  as  far  as  we  know, 
is  in  the  bottom  of  Grave  creek,  near  its  entrance  into 
the  Ohio,  and  fourteen  miles  below  Wheeling.  It 
is  between  thirty  and  forty  rods  in  circumference  at  its 
base,  with  a  proportionate  diameter.  It  is  seventy 
feet  in  perpendicular  height ;  and  has  a  table  area  on 
its  summit,  which  is  sixty  feet  in  diameter,  in  the 
centre  of  which  is  a  great  and  regular  concavity.  A 
single  white  oak  rises  from  this  concavity,  like  a  flag 
staff. 

"  The  most  numerous  group  of  mounds,  that  we 
have  seen,  is  near  Cahokia,  in  the  American  bottom. 
There  are  said  to  be  two  hundred  in  all.  The  largest 
is  on  the  banks  of  Cahokia  creek.  Its  form  is  that 
of  a  parallelogram.  Its  circumference  is  commonly 
given  at  eight  hundred  yards,  and  its  height  at  ninety 
feet.  There  is  a  terrace  on  the  south  side  of  it.  The 
monks  of  La  Trappe  had  a  monastery  adjoining  it, 


292  INDIANS   OF   NORTH   AMERICA. 

and  their  garden  was  on  the  terrace.  They  cultivated 
the  mound.  The  earth  could  not  have  furnished  them 
a  place,  more  in  keeping  with  their  profession  and 
avowed  objects.  In  the  midst  of  the  American  bot- 
tom, perhaps  the  most  fertile  spot  on  the  globe,  exert- 
ing its  exhaustless  fertility  only  in  the  production  of 
dense  forest,  or  a  useless  luxuriance  of  weeds  and 
flowers,  all  in  view  of  their  dwelling  is  a  solitary 
prairie.  A  few  dreaming  men,  vowed  to  perpetual 
silence,  apparently  belonging  more  to  another  world, 
than  this,  seat  themselves  on  one  of  these  lonely  and 
inexplicable  monuments  of  generations,  that  are  now 
no  more,  in  the  midst  of  gigantic  weeds,  gaudy  flow- 
ers, and  rank  grass. — No  noise  disturbs  them,  by  day 
or  night,  but  the  chirping  of  the  grasshopper,  or  the 
cry  of  wolves,  or  the  hooting  of  owls. 

"  There  are  very  interesting  mounds  near  St. 
Louis,  a  little  north  of  the  town.  Some  of  them  have 
the  aspect  of  enormous  stacks.  That  one  of  them, 
called  the  '  falling  garden,'  is  generally  pointed  out, 
as  a  great  curiosity. — One  of  these  mounds,  and  it 
was  a  very  striking  one,  was  levelled  in  the  centre  of 
Chillicothe.  In  digging  it  down,  it  was  said,  there 
were  removed  cart  loads  of  human  bones.  The  town 
of  Circleville,  in  Ohio,  is  principally  laid  out  within 
the  limits  of  a  couple  of  contiguous  mounds  ;  the 
one  circular,  the  other  square.  The  town  has  its 
name  from  its  position,  chiefly  in  the  circular  mound. 
In  this,  and  in  many  other  mounds,  the  singular  cir- 
cumstance is  said  to  exist,  and  by  people,  who  live 
near  them,  and  ought  to  know  that,  of  which  they  af- 
firm, that  the  earth,  of  which  they  are  composed,  is 


INDIANS    OF   NORTH   AMERICA.  293 

entirely  distinct  from  that  in  the  vicinity.  It  is  of  no 
avail  to  enquire,  why  the  builders  should  have  en- 
countered the  immense  toil,  to  bring  these  hills  of 
earth  from  another  place. 

"  Our  country  has  been  described  abroad,  as  ster- 
ile of  moral  interest.  We  have,  it  is  said,  no  mon- 
uments, no  ruins,  none  of  the  colossal  remains  of 
temples,  and  baronial  castles,  and  monkish  towers ; 
nothing  to  connect  the  imagination  and  the  heart  with 
the  past ;  none  of  the  dim  recollections  of  times  gone 
by,  to  associate  the  past  with  the  future.  We  have 
not  travelled  in  other  lands.  But  in  passing  over  our 
vast  prairies,  in  viewing  our  noble  and  ancient  forests, 
planted  by  nature,  and  nurtured  only  by  ages ;  when 
we  have  seen  the  sun  rising  over  a  boundless  plain, 
where  the  blue  of  the  heavens  in  oil  directions  touched, 
and  mingled  with  the  verdure  of  the  flowers ;  when 
our  thoughts  have  traversed  rivers  of  a  thousand 
leagues  in  length ;  when  we  have  seen  the  ascending 
steam-boat  breasting  the  surge,  and  gleaming  through 
the  verdure  of  the  trees ;  when  we  have  imagined  the 
happy  multitudes,  that  from  these  shores  will  contem- 
plate this  scenery  in  days  to  come  ;  we  have  thought, 
that  our  great  country  might  at  least  compare  with 
any  other,  in  the  beauty  of  its  natural  scenery.  When, 
on  an  uninhabited  prairie,  we  have  fallen  at  nightfall 
upon  a  group  of  these  mounds,  wTe  have  thought  of 
the  masses  of  human  bones,  that  moulder  beneath ; 
when  the  heart  and  the  imagination  evoke  the  busy 
multitudes,  that  here  'strutted  through  life's  poor 
play,'  and  ask  the  phantoms  who  and  what  they  were, 
and  why  they  have  left  no  memorials,  but  these 
25* 


294 


INDIANS   OF   NORTH   AMERICA. 


mounds ;  we  have  found  ample  scope  for  reflections 
and  associations  of  the  past  with  the  future.  We 
should  not  highly  estimate  the  mind,  or  the  heart  of 
the  man,  who  could  hehold  these  tombs  of  the  prairies 
without  deep  thought." 


MANNERS  AND  CUSTOMS  OF  THE  LEAD- 
ING INDIAN  TRIBES  OF  THE  WEST.* 

IN  the  preceding  pages  we  have  given  a  rapid  view 
of  the  manners,  customs  and  antiquities  of  the  North 
America  savages.  Our  design  has  been  to  exhibit 
them  as  they  were  at  the  period  when  our  forefathers 
first  became  acquainted  with  them,  some  two  centuries 
ago :  and  at  the  same  time  to  suggest  how  far  the 
present  tribes  have  preserved,  and  how  far  discarded 
the  manners  of  their  forefathers.  In  general,  it  may 
be  said,  that  the  present  Indian  of  the  west  is  the  same 
as  the  red  man  that  figures  in  the  page  of  New  Eng- 
land and  Virginian  colonial  history;  the  same  in  aspect 
and  character ;  the  same  in  his  physical,  moral  and 
intellectual  conformation;  the  same  in  his  thoughts 
and  modes  of  life,  except  so  far  as  contact  with  the 
white  races  has  degraded  him,  or  the  introduction  of 
a  few  of  the  arts  of  civilization,  has  modified  his  ex- 
istence. He  has  now  the  horse  and  the  rifle,  the 
steel  knife  and  the  iron  tomahawk ;  he  has  blankets, 
instead  of  skins,  and  kettles  of  iron  instead  of  stone. 
But  still  he  is,  for  the  most  part,  a  savage, — living 
chiefly  by  the  chase,  and  finding  his  greatest  delight 

*  For  a  view  of  the  several  Western  tribes,  see  Cabinet 
Library,  volume  — ,  "  History  of  the  American  Indians,"  page 
287,  and  onward. 


296 


INDIANS   OF    THE    WEST. 


in  taking  the  scalps  of  his  enemy.  He  is  still  the 
same  superstitious  child  of  nature — referring  every- 
thing he  cannot  explain  to  the  agency  of  unseen  spir- 
its ;  cherishing  revenge  against  his  enemies  as  a  car- 
dinal virtue,  and  looking  to  heaven  for  reward,  in 
proportion  to  the  number  of  warriors  he  has  slain.  It 
may,  therefore,  be  said,  that  the  customs  of  former 
times,  are  for  the  most  part  those  of  to-day.  But  for 
the  purpose  of  showing  distinctly  the  difference  be- 
tween the  past  and  the  present,  we  shall  proceed  to 
give  a  rapid  sketch  of  some  of  the  great  tribes  of  the 
west,  as  they  now  appear,  exhibiting  their  peculiar 
and  striking  characteristics. 


Camanchec  on  horseback. 

THE   CAMANCHEES. — This  famous  and  formidable 
tribe,  numbering  from  twenty  to  forty  thousand  souls, 


INDIANS    OF    THE    WEST. 


297 


inhabits  a  fine  territory  upon  the  Red  River,  within 
the  limits  of  Texas,  yet  bordering  upon  the  State  of 
Louisiana.  This  is  their  home,  but  they  wander 
westward  and  exercise  a  sort  of  casual  domain  over 
the  wilds  as  far  as  the  Pacific.  They  have  long  held 
an  Ishmaelite  character  among  their  neighbors,  and 
the  adjacent  Spaniards  have  often  suffered  from  their 
depredations.  Mr.  Flint  has  drawn  the  following 
glowing  picture  of  their  country. 


Camanchee  tent  and  family. 

"  At  the  extremity  of  the  village,  the  torrent,  whose 
sources  were  in  the  mountains,  poured  down,  from  a 
prodigious  elevation,  a  white  and  perpendicular  cas- 
cade, which  seemed  a  sheet  suspended  in  the  air.  It 
falls  into  a  circular  basin,  paved  with  blue  limestone 
of  some  rods  in  circuit.  The  dash  near  at  hand  has 


298  INDIANS    OF   THE    WEST. 

a  startling  effect  upon  the  ear.  But  at  a  little  distance, 
it  is  just  the  murmur  to  inspire  repose,  and  it  spreads 
a  delicious  coolness  all  around  the  place. 

"  From  the  basin  the  stream  seems  to  partake  of 
the  repose  of  the  valley ;  for  it  broadens  into  a  trans- 
parent and  quiet  water,  whose  banks  are  fringed  with 
pawpaw,  persimon,  laurel,  and  catalpa  shrubs  and  trees, 
interlaced  with  vines,  under  which  the  green  carpet  is 
rendered  gay  with  flowers  of  every  scent  and  hue. 
The  soil  is  black,  tender  and  exuberantly  fertile.  The 
coolness  of  the  vale  and  the  shade,  together  with  the 
irrigation  of  the  stream,  cover  the  whole  valley  with  a 
vivid  verdure.  The  beautiful  red-bird  with  its  crimson- 
lufted  crest,  and  the  nightingale  sparrow,  pouring  from 
a  body  scarcely  larger  than  an  acorn,  a  continued 
stream  of  sound,  a  prolonged,  plaintive,  and  sweetly 
modulated  harmony,  that  might  be  heard  at  the  dis- 
tance of  half  a  mile,  had  commenced  their  morning 
voluntary.  The  mocking  bird,  the  buffoon  of  song- 
sters, was  parodying  the  songs  of  all  the  rest.  Its 
short  and  jerking  notes,  at  times,  imitated  bursts  of 
laughter.  Sometimes,  laying  aside  its  habitual  levity, 
it  shows,  that  it  knows  the  notes  of  seriousness,  and 
trills  a  sweetly  melancholy  strain. 

"  Above  the  summits  of  the  frowning  mountains, 
that  mortal  foot  had  never  yet  trodden,  soared  the 
mountain  eagle,  drinking  the  sunbeam  in  the  pride  of 
his  native  independence.  Other  birds  of  prey,  appar- 
ently poised  on  their  wing?,  swam  slowly  round  in 
easy  curves,  and  seemed  to  look  with  delight  upon 
the  green  spot  embosomed  in  the  mountains.  They 
sailed  back  and  forwards,  as  though  they  could  not 


INDIANS    OF    THE   WEST. 


tire  of  the  view.  The  sun,  which  had  burnished  all 
the  tops  of  the  mountains  with  gold,  and  here  and 
there  glistened  on  banks  of  snow,  would  not  shine  into 
the  valley,  until  he  had  almost  gained  his  meridian 
height.  The  natives,  fleet  as  the  deer,  when  on  ex- 
peditions abroad,  and  at  home,  lazy  and  yawning, 
were  just  issuing  from  their  cabins,  and  stretching 


Camanchee  village. 

their  limbs  supinely  in  the  cool  of  the  morning.  The 
smoke  of  their  cabin  fires  had  begun  to  undulate  and 
whiten  in  horizontal  pillars  athwart  the  valley.  The 
distant  roar  of  the  cascade,  like  the  gong  in  Chinese 
music,  seemed  to  mingle  and  harmonize  all  other 
sounds  in  the  valley.  It  was  a  charming  assemblage 
of  strong  contrasts,  rocky  and  inaccessible  mountains, 
the  deep  and  incessant  roar  of  the  stream,  a  valley 
that  seemed  to  sleep  between  these  impregnable  ram- 


300  INDIANS    OF    THE    WEST. 

parts  of  nature,  a  little  region  of  landscape  surrounded 
by  black  and  rugged  cliffs,  on  every  side  dotted  thick 
with  brilliant  and  beautiful  vegetation,  and  fragrant 
with  hundreds  of  acacias  and  catalpas  in  full  flower — 
a  spot  sequestered  like  a  lonely  island  in  the  midst  of 
the  ocean ;  in  the  midst  of  it  a  busy,  simple,  and  un- 
described  people,  whose  forefathers  had  been  born  and 
had  died  here  for  uncounted  generations ;  a  people, 
who  could  record  wars,  loves,  and  all  the  changes  of 
fortune,  if  they  had  had  their  historian.  Such  was 
the  valley  of  the  Camanchees." 

From  the  same  authority  we  extract  the  following 
sketch. 

'"  The  Camanchees  bear  a  general  resemblance  to 
the  rest  of  the  North  American  Indians.  Inhabiting  a 
healthful  and  temperate  climate,  living  in  constant 
abundance  from  their  inexhaustible  supplies  of  game, 
and  having  vast  herds  of  cattle,  horses,  and  mules, 
and  constantly  exercising  in  the  open  air,  they  attain 
the  most  perfect  and  entire  development  of  the  human 
form.  They  are  of  fine  persons,  large,  muscular,  and 
athletic.  They  are  courageous,  fierce,  and  indepen- 
dent, knowing  no  law  but  their  own  proud  wills.  I 
saw  manifest  proofs  of  their  having  put  the  Spaniards 
under  frequent  and  heavy  contributions ;  for,  besides 
that  their  trade  with  the  Americans  supplied  them 
with  rifles  and  yagers,  they  had  levied  from  the  Span- 
iards carbines,  powder,  and  lead ;  and  quantities  of 
bullion,  silver,  gold,  and  massive  plate  appeared  in 
the  cabins  of  the  principal  war  chiefs.  There  were 
also  cumbrous  articles  of  mahogany  furniture,  splendid 
dresses  and  trappings,  and  crosses  of  gold,  decked  with 


INDIANS   OF   THE   WEST.  501 

gems  among  them.  The  Creole  captives  from  the 
Spaniards  were  retained  as  slaves,  and  performed  me- 
nial drudgery.  Some  of  them  were  intermarried 
among  the  savages,  and  there  were  numbers  of  chil- 
dren of  this  mixed  race." 

These  people  have  permanent  villages,  which  they 
occupy  in  winter,  but  at  other  seasons  they  move  from 
place  to  place,  chiefly  for  the  purpose  of  living  in  the 
vicinity  of  the  herds  of  buffaloes,  confining  their  mi- 
grations, however,  to  what  is  deemed  their  own  terri- 
tory. Their  wigwams,  like  those  of  the  Sioux  and 
some  other  tribes,  are  made  of  skins,  erected  upon 
poles,  and  forming  tents.  When  they  remove,  the 
poles  are  attached  to  their  horses,  making  a  kind  of 
dray,  and  on  these,  the  skins  and  other  furniture  are 
laid.  The  labor  in  these  operations,  is  performed  by 
the  women,  the  whole  charge  of  taking  down,  trans- 
porting and  re-erecting  the  tents,  being  left  to  them. 

"  The  Camanchees,"  says  Mr.  Catlin,  "  like  the 
northern  tribes,  have  many  games,  and  in  pleasant 
weather  seem  to  be  continually  practising  more  or 
less  of  them  on  the  prairies,  back  of,  and  contiguous  to 
their  village.  In  their  ball  plays,  and  some  other 
games,  they  are  far  behind  the  Sioux  and  others  of 
the  northern  tribes ;  but  in  racing  horses,  and  riding, 
they  are  not  equalled  by  any  other  Indians  on  the 
continent.  Racing  horses,  it  would  seem,  is  a  con- 
stant and  almost  incessant  exercise,  and  their  principal 
mode  of  gambling ;  and  perhaps  a  more  finished  set 
of  jockeys  are  not  to  be  found.  The  exercise  of  these 
people  in  a  country  where  horses  are  so  abundant,  and 
the  country  so  fine  for  riding,  is  chiefly  done  on  horse 
v.— 26 


302 


INDIANS    OF   THE   WEST. 


back :  and  it  stands  to  reason,  that  such  a  people,  who 
have  been  practising  from  their  childhood,  should  be- 
come exceedingly  expert  in  this  wholesome  and  beau- 
tiful exercise. 

"  Amongst  the  feats  of  riding,  there  is  one  that  has 
astonished  me  more  than  anything  I  have  ever  seen, 
or  expect  to  see  in  my  life : — a  stratagem  of  war, 
learned  and  practised  by  every  young  man  of  the 
tribe ;  by  which  he  is  able  to  drop  his  body  upon  the 


side  of  his  horse  at  the  instant  he  is  passing,  effectu- 
ally screened  from  his  enemy's  weapon  as  he  lies  in 
a  horizontal  position  behind  the  body  of  his  horse, 
with  his  heels  hanging  over  the  horse's  back ;  by 
which  he  has  the  power  of  throwing  himself  up  again 
and  changing  to  the  other  side  of  the  horse  if  neces- 
sary. In  this  wonderful  condition,  he  will  hang  while 


INDIANS   OF    THE    WEST.  303 

his  horse  is  in  full  speed,  carrying  with  him  his  bow 
and  his  shield,  and  also  his  lance  of  fourteen  feet  in 
length,  all  or  either  of  which  he  will  wield  upon  his 
enemy  as  he  passes  :  rising  and  throwing  his  arrows 
over  the  horse's  back,  or  with  equal  ease  and  equal 
success,  under  the  horse's  neck.  This  astonishing  feat 
which  the  young  men  have  been  repeatedly  playing 
off  to  our  surprise  as  well  as  amusement,  whilst  they 
have  been  galloping  about  in  front  of  our  tents,  com- 
pletely puzzled  the  whole  of  us ;  and  appeared  to  be 
the  result  of  magic,  rather  than  of  skill  acquired  by 
practice. 

"  I  had  several  times  great  curiosity  to  approach 
them,  to  ascertain  by  what  means  their  bodies  could 
be  suspended  in  this  manner,  where  nothing  could  be 
seen  but  the  heel  hanging  over  the  horse's  back.  In 
these  endeavors  I  was  continually  frustrated,  until 
one  day  I  coaxed  a  young  fellow  up  within  a  little 
distance  of  me,  by  offering  him  a  few  plugs  of  tobacco, 
and  he  in  a  moment  solved  the  difficulty,  so  as  appar- 
ently to  render  it  more  feasible  than  before,  yet  leaving 
it  one  of  the  most  extraordinary  results  of  practice  and 
persevering  endeavors.  I  found  on  examination,  that 
a  short  hair  halter  was  passed  around  the  neck  of  the 
horse,  and  both  ends  tightly  braided  into  the  mane, 
or  the  withers,  leaving  a  loop  to  hang  under  the 
neck,  and  against  the  heart,  which  being  caught  up 
in  the  hand,  makes  a  sling,  into  which  the  elbow 
falls,  taking  the  weight  of  the  body  on  the  middle  of 
the  upper  arm.  Into  this  loop,  the  rider  drops  sud- 
denly and  fearlessly,  leaving  his  heel  to  hang  over 
the  back  of  the  horse,  to  steady  him,  and  also  to  re- 


304 


OF    THE    WEST. 


store  him,  when  he  wishes  to  regain  his  upright  po- 
sition on  the  horse's  back. 


Osage  chief  itith  his  rear  club. 

THE  OSAGES. — The  Osage  Indians  at  present  reside 
within  what  is  called  the  Indian  Territory,  and  near  the 
Creeks.  They  live  in  villages,  some  of  which  deserve 
rather  the  name  of  large  towns.  In  person  they  are 
among  the  largest  and  best  formed  of  the  Indian  race, 
and  are  said  to  possess  great  genius  for  war ;  but  as 
they  lead  something  like  a  settled  life,  and  have  made 
some  progress  in  agriculture,  they  are  less  addicted  to 
war  than  most  of  their  neighbors.  One  of  their  vil- 
lages on  the  Arkansas  is  thus  described  by  a  traveller : 


INDIANS    OF   THE    WEST.  305 

"  The  Osage  village  is  built  compactly,  in  the  centre 
of  a  vast  prairie.  All  the  warriors,  chiefs  and  young 
men,  met  us  two  miles  from  the  town,  mounted  on  good 
horses,  and  as  fine  as  they  had  feathers,  or  anything 
else,  to  make  them.  The  town  consisted  of  one  hun- 
dred and  fifty  dwellings,  with  from  ten  to  fifteen  per- 
sons in  each  house.  The  average  height  of  the  men 
is  more  than  six  feet.  They  are  almost  entirely  in  a 
state  of  nature,  for  few  white  people  have  ever  been 
umong  them.  They  know  nothing  of  the  use  of  mo- 
ney j  nor  do  they  use  any  ardent  spirits.  I  pitched 
my  tent  about  half  a  mile  from  the  town,  and  remained 
five  days.  They  made  dances  and  plays  every  night, 
to  amuse  me.  These  Indians  have  a  native  religion 
of  their  own,  and  are  the  only  tribe  I  ever  knew  that 
had.  At  daybreak,  every  morning,  I  could  hear  them 
at  prayer  for  an  hour  :  they  appeared  to  be  as  devout 
in  their  way  as  any  class  of  people." 

The  dress  of  the  Osages  consists  of  deerskin  leggins, 
reaching  upward  to  the  hips,  and  a  buffalo  robe  or 
blanket  about  their  shoulders.  They  shave  off  their 
hair  close  to  the  head,  except  a  line  about  half  an  inch 
wide,  running  round  the  head.  The  hair  thus  left  is 
allowed  to  grow  an  inch  long,  and  to  this  they  attach 
ornaments.  Their  ears  are  slit  in  several  places,  and 
filled  with  strings  of  beads.  They  also  wear  orna- 
ments on  their  arms  and  legs.  Their  houses  are  made 
of  poles,  arched  from  fifteen  to  twenty  feet  high,  and 
covered  by  mattings  of  flags.  The  inside  is  planked 
and  lined  with  mats.  Several  fires  are  built  in  the 
house,  according  to  its  size  and  the  number  of 
T  26* 


306  ItfDiAJMS    OF    THE    WEST. 

possessed  by  the  owner.  The  fire-place  is  a  hole  of 
the  size  of  a  bushel  basket,  and  the  smoke  goes  out  at 
a  hole  in  the  roof :  around  the  fire  they  spread  their 
mats  upon  which  they  eat. 

They  have  the  common  Indian  weapons,  the  bow 
and  arrow,  tomahawk,  war-club  and  scalping  knife  :  a 
great  number  of  them  also  have  guns.  Their  govern- 
ment is  of  the  same  description  as  that  of  most  of  the 
other  tribes,  but  their  manners  are  less  fierce  and 
warlike.  The  neighboring  tribes  hold  them  in  con- 
tempt as  cowards.  They  have  good  horses,  which 
they  keep  in  excellent  order.  To  obtain  these  ani- 
mals they  go  in  large  parties  to  the  country  on  the 
Red  River,  where  they  are  found  wild  in  great  num» 
bers.  When  they  discover  a  gang  of  horses  they 
distribute  themselves  into  three  parties,  two  of  which 
take  their  stations  at  places  where  they  know  by  ex- 
perience that  the  horses  are  likely  to  pass  in  attempt- 
ing to  escape.  The  Indians  being  all  mounted,  the 
first  party  starts  the  wild  horses  and  pursues  them  to 
wards  the  second  party,  where  the  chase  is  continued 
with  fresh  horses  to  the  station  of  the  third  party. 
The  wild  horses  being  by  this  time  pretty  well  spent, 
this  party  succeeds  generally  in  running  them  down, 
and  noosing  considerable  numbers. 

The  Osages  raise  every  year  crops  of  corn,  beans 
and  pumpkins  :  these  they  cultivate  entirely  with  the 
hoe  in  the  simplest  manner.  They  usually  plant  in 
April,  and  give  their  fields  one  dressing  before  they 
leave  their  villages  for  the  summer  hunt,  in  May. 
About  the  first  week  in  August,  they  return  to  their  vil- 
lage to  gather  their  crops,  which  have  been  left  unhoed 


INDIANS    OF    THE    WEST. 

and  unfenced  all  the  season.  Each  family,  if  prudent, 
can  save  twenty  or  thirty  bushels  of  corn  and  beans, 
besides  a  quantity  of  dried  pumpkins.  They  have  an 
autumnal  hunt  in  September,  and  return  to  their  vil- 
lage about  Christmas,  and  remain  till  the  beginning 
of  spring,  making  short  hunting  excursions  in  the  in- 
tervals of  fine  weather.  The  game  is  diminishing  in 
their  country,  but  this  has  had  no  other  effect  than  to 
make  them  more  expert  hunters  and  warriors. 

The  Osages  have  observed  with  much  apparent  in- 
terest the  effects  of  the  agricultural  skill  of  the  whites, 
their  fine  gardens,  abundant  crops,  and  their  numer- 
ous comforts  and  conveniences.  A  very  sensible 
Osage,  the  Big  Soldier,  who  had  been  twice  at  Wash- 
ington, said  to  an  American  agent :  "  I  see  and  admire 
your  manner  of  living,  your  good  warm  houses,  your 
wide  fields  of  corn,  your  gardens,  your  cows,  oxen, 
work-shops,  wagons,  and  a  thousand  machines  that  I 
know  not  the  use  of.  I  see  that  you  are  able  to  clothe 
yourselves,  even  from  weeds  and  grass.  In  short,  you 
can  do  almost  whatever  you  choose,  and  possess  the 
power  of  subduing  almost  every  animal  to  your  use. 
But  you  are  surrounded  by  slaves,  and  you  are  slaves 
yourselves.  I  fear  that  if  I  should  exchange  my  pur- 
suits for  yours,  I  should  also  become  a  slave.  Talk  to 
my  sons — perhaps  they  may  be  persuaded  to  adopt 
your  fashions,  or,  at  least,  to  recommend  them  to  their 
sons,  but  for  myself,  I  was  born  free,  brought  up  free, 
and  I  wish  to  die  free." 

Among  the  peculiarities  of  the  Osages,  there  is 
nothing  more  remarkable  than  the  tradition  relative  to 
their  origin.  According  to  the  universal  belief,  the 


SOS  INDIANS    OF    THE    WEST. 

founder  of  the  nation  was  a  snail,  who  passed  a  quiet 
existence  along  the  banks  of  the  Osage  river,  till  a  high 
flood  swept  him  down  to  the  Missouri,  and  left  him 
exposed  on  the  shore.  The  heat  of  the  sun  at  length 
ripened  him  into  a  man  :  but  with  the  change  of  his  na- 
ture he  had  not  forgotten  his  native  seat  on  the  Osage, 
towards  which  he  immediately  bent  his  way.  He 
was,  however,  soon  overtaken  by  hunger  and  fatigue, 
when  happily  the  Great  Spirit  appeared,  and  giving 
him  a  bow  and  arrow,  showed  him  how  to  kill  and 
cook  deer,  and  cover  himself  with  the  skin.  He 
then  proceeded  to  his  original  residence,  but  as  he  ap- 
proached the  river  he  was  met  by  a  beaver,  who  in- 
quired haughtily  who  he  was,  and  by  what  authority  he 
came  to  disturb  his  possession.  The  Osage  answered 
that  the  river  was  his  own,  for  he  had  once  lived  on  its 
borders.  As  they  stood  disputing,  the  daughter  of  the 
beaver  came,  and  by  her  entreaties  reconciled  her 
father  to  the  young  stranger.  It  was  proposed  tha*. 
the  Osage  should  marry  the  young  beaver,  and 
share  with  her  family  the  enjoyment  of  the  terri- 
tory. The  Osage  readily  consen'od,  and  from  this 
happy  union  soon  arose  the  village  and  nation  of  the 
Washasha  or  Osages.  These  for  a  long  time  preserved 
a  pious  reverence  for  their  ancestor  the  beaver,  ab- 
staining from  the  chase  of  that  animal,  till  their  com- 
merce with  the  whites  rendered  beaver-skins  so  val- 
uable as  to  overcome  their  scruples,  and  at  the  pre- 
sent day  the  beavers  have  nearly  lost  all  privilege  of 
kindred. 

At  the  period  of  Lewis  and  Clarke's  expedition  the 
Osages  numbered  between  twelve  and  thirteen  hun- 


INDIANS   OF    THE    W.EST. 


309 


dred  warriors,  and  were  divided  into  three  tribes.  Their 
numbers  at  present  are  not  accurately  known :  they 
are  continually  removing  from  one  village  to  another, 
quarrelling  and  intermarrying;  so  that  the  population 
of  no  particular  village  can  ever  be  correctly  ascer- 
tained :  but  their  numbers  are  supposed  to  be  dimin- 
ishing. Several  missionary  establishments  have  been 
formed  among  them.  The  Indians  above  the  age  of 
twenty-five  years  generally  refuse  all  instruction. 
Yet  they  seldom  oppose  the  instruction  of  their  chil- 
dren in  the  arts  of  civilized  life. 


Pawnee  chief. 

THE  PAWNEES. — This  nation  is  divided  into  three 
bands,  called  the   Grand  Pawnees,   the   Republican 


310 


INDIANS    OF   THE    WEST. 


Pawnees,  and  the  Pawnee  Loups.  They  dwell  upon 
the  river  Platte  and  its  branches.  Their  villages  are 
large,  and  at  a  distance  have  the  appearance  of  regu- 
larly built  towns.  The  Pawnees  are  generally  tall 


and  well  shaped,  except  the  females,  who  are  dimin- 
utive in  size,  and  brutified  in  appearance  by  hard 
labor.  When  they  smoke,  the  first  puff  is  upward, 
intended  for  the  Great  Spirit,  as  an  act  of  homage  to 
him ;  the  second  is  to  their  mother  earth,  from  whom 
they  obtain  their  corn,  and  the  third  is  horizontal,  ex- 
pressive of  their  good  will  to  their  fellow  man.  The 
duties  of  the  women  are  to  cultivate  the  ground,  to 
dress  skins,  and  make  clothes,  saddles,  bridles,  &c., 


INDIANS   OP   THE   WEST. 


311 


of  buffalo  hides;  and  to  preserve  the  dead  game  brought 
to  them  by  the  hunters.  The  men,  when  not  engaged 
in  war  and  hunting,  amuse  themselves  by  exercise  on 
horseback.  Adjacent  to  each  lodge  in  the  village,  is 
a  large  pen,  in  which  the  horses  are  placed  for  safety 
during  the  night.  The  police  of  each  village  is  ap- 
pointed by  the  chief,  and  consists  of  a  certain  number 
of  warriors ;  they  remain  in  office  a  few  days,  and  are 
then  replaced  by  others.  While  in  office,  there  per- 
sons are  held  sacred,  and  when  executing  their  func- 
tions no  resistance  against  them  is  suffered. 

The  Pawnee  men  cut  their  hair  close,  except  a 
tuft  on  the  top  of  the  head,  and  which  they  plait  as  a 
valued  ornament ;  the  removal  of  this  would  be  dis- 
graceful. In  seasons  of  mourning,  however,  they 
make  this  sacrifice  to  express  their  grief.  They  dress 
in  buffalo  robes  and  deer  skins.  The  women  suffer 
their  hair  to  grow  long.  The  girls  of  all  ages  are 
clothed,  but  the  boys  generally  go  naked  in  summer. 

The  Pawnee  Loups  formerly  had  a  custom  alto- 
gether unique  among  the  American  Indians,  of  making 
propitiatory  offerings  to  the  Great  Star,  the  name 
which  they  give  to  the  planet  Venus.  The  origin  of 
this  sanguinary  rite  is  unknown.  The  ceremony  was 
performed  annually,  immediately  before  their  agricul- 
tural operations,  for  the  success  of  which  it  was  per- 
haps instituted :  a  breach  of  this  duty  would,  in  their 
belief,  be  followed  by  the  total  failure  of  their  crops 
of  maize,  beans  and  pumpkins.  To  obviate  this  ca- 
lamity, any  person  was  at  liberty  to  offer  up  a  prisoner 
of  either  sex,  whom  he  had  taken  in  war.  The  de- 
voted victim  was  clothed  in  the  gayest  and  most  costly 


312  INDIANS   OF   THE   WEST. 

attire,  profusely  supplied  with  the  choicest  food,  and 
constantly  attended  by  the  magicians  or  jugglers, 
who  anticipated  all  his  wants,  cautiously  concealed 
from  him  the  real  object  of  their  sedulous  attentions, 
and  endeavored  to  maintain  him  in  a  state  of  cheerful- 
ness, that  he  might  grow  fat,  and  render  the  sacrifice 
more  acceptable. 

When  the  victim  was  thought  sufficiently  prepared, 
a  day  was  appointed  for  the  sacrifice,  and  the  whole 
tribe  assembled.  He  was  bound  to  a  cross,  and  a 
solemn  dance  was  performed,  with  various  other  cer- 
emonies :  after  which  the  warrior  who  had  taken  him 
-captive,  clove  his  head  with  a  tomahawk,  and  the  mul- 
titude completed  the  execution  by  piercing  him  with 
their  arrows.  In  the  volume  of  this  work  which 
treats  of  the  history  of  the  Indians,  an  anecdote  is 
related  of  a  Pawnee  brave,  who  rescued  an  letan 
woman,  destined  to  this  sacrifice.  This  brave  was 
Petaleshavoo,  the  son  of  the  Knife  Chief,  at  that  time 
the  head  of  the  nation.  The  old  chief,  who  was  of  a 
mild  and  philanthropic  disposition,  had  in  vain  attempt- 
ed to  abolish  this  bloody  ceremony.  The  success  of 
Petaleshavoo  in  his  daring  enterprise,  was  the  first 
step  toward  the  accomplishment  of  this  design. 

The  young  warrior  was  determined  to  repeat  his 
attempts  on  every  occasion  that  offered.  The  ensuing 
spring,  a  Pawnee  who  had  captured  a  fine  Spanish  boy, 
vowed  to  sacrifice  him  to  the  Great  Star,  and  accord- 
ingly placed  him  under  the  care  of  the  jugglers  for  that 
purpose.  The  Knife  Chief  learning  this,  consulted  with 
his  son,  respecting  the  means  of  preventing  the  bloody 
sacrifice.  "  I  will  rescue  the  bov,"  said  Petaleshavoo, 


INDIANS   OF   THE   WEST.  313 

"  as  a  warrior  should,  by  force."  But  the  old  chief, 
unwilling  that  his  son  should  again  expose  himself  to 
a  danger  so  imminent,  hoped  to  induce  the  warrior  to 
exchange  his  victim  for  some  article  of  value.  To 
obtain  this,  he  resorted  to  an  American  trader,  who 
was  then  in  the  village,  with  commodities  for  sale, 
and  communicated  to  him  his  design.  This  person 
generously  gave  him  a  large  quantity  of  merchandize, 
to  which  the  chief,  his  son,  and  other  Indians,  added 
contributions  sufficient  to  make  the  whole  a  very 
tempting  offer.  All  this  treasure  was  laid  in  a  heap 
together,  in  the  lodge  of  the  chief,  who  then  sum- 
moned the  warrior  before  him.  Arming  himself  with 
his  war-club,  he  explained  the  object  of  the  summons, 
and  commanded  the  warrior  to  accept  the  merchan- 
dize and  yield  up  the  boy,  or  prepare  for  instant 
death.  The  warrior  refused,  and  the  chief  lifted  his 
club.  "  Strike,"  said  Petaleshavoo,  who  stood  near 
to  assist  his  father,  "  I  will  meet  the  vengeance  of  his 
friends."  But  the  more  prudent  and  politic  chief 
added  a  few  articles  of  merchandize,  in  order  to  give 
the  warrior  an  excuse  for  acquiescing,  without  forfeiting 
his  word.  The  expedient  was  successful ;  the  goods 
were  Accepted ;  the  boy  was  liberated  and  conducted 
to  St.  Louis  by  the  trader.  The  merchandize  was 
sacrificed  in  his  stead :  the  cloth  was  cut  in  shreds, 
and  suspended  at  the  place  appointed  for  the  ceremony, 
and  the  other  articles  were  burnt.  Since  this  period 
it  is  believed  that  no  human  sacrifice  of  this  nature 
has  taken  place  among  the  Pawnees. 

The  Pawnees  at  present  number  about  ten  or  twelve 
thousand  souls,  only  one  half  the  population  which 
v.— 27 


814  INDIANS   OF    THE    VEST. 

existed  in  1832,  when  the  small-pox  was  intioduced 
among  them  by  the  fur  traders.  So  destructive  was 
the  progress  of  this  terrible  disease,  that  in  a  few 
months  ten  thousand  of  their  number  were  swept  away. 
The  tribes  of  the  Omahas,  the  Otoes  and  the  Missou- 
ris  were  so  reduced  by  the  same  calamity  that  they 
were  unable  to  contend  against  their  enemies,  and 
sought  the  protection  of  the  Pawnees,  into  which  tribe 
they  are  now  merged.  The  great  nation  of  the  Sioux 
also  suffered  by  this  visitation,  as  well  as  the  Osages, 
Kanzas  and  Puncahs ;  the  latter  were  almost  totally 
extirpated  by  it. 

The  Pawnee  Picts  are  a  numerous  and  powerful 
tribe,  inhabiting  the  country  between  the  head  waters 
of  the  Red  River  and  the  Rocky  Mountains.  They 
number  from  eight  to  ten  thousand  souls,  and  hold  an 
established  alliance  with  the  Camanchees,  hunting 
and  feasting  with  them,  and  associating  together  for 
their  common  defence.  Notwithstanding  their  name, 
these  people  are  no  way  related  to  the  Pawnees  of  the 
Platte,  from  whom  they  are  separated  by  a  distance 
of  a  thousand  miles,  and  whom  they  know  only  as 
enemies.  They  are  clumsily  formed,  but  are  expert 
horsemen.  In  their  dress  and  customs  they  bear  a 
strong  resemblance  to  the  Camanchees. 

THE  SACS  AND  FOXES. — These  two  tribes,  former- 
ly distinct,  are  now  completely  amalgamated.  Their 
territory  lies  west  of  the  Mississippi.  They  are  very 
expert  hunters,  and  also  display  some  skill  in  agri- 
culture. They  leave  their  villages  as  soon  as  their 
crops  are  harvested  and  the  traders  have  arrived  and 
furnish  them  with  goods,  and  proceed  to  their  hunting 


INDIANS    OF   THE    WEST. 

grounds.     The  old  men,  women  and  children  embark 


Woman  and  child. 

in  canoes ;  the  young  men  go  hy  land,  on  horses. 
The  winter  hunt  lasts  about  three  months.  The 
traders  follow  them,  and  establish  themselves  at  pla- 
ces convenient  for  collecting  their  debts,  and  supplying 
them  with  such  commodities  as  they  need.  In  a  fa- 
vorable season,  most  of  the  Indians  are  able  not  only  to 
pay  the  traders  and  to  supply  themselves  with  articles 
for  the  winter,  but  to  lay  up  a  considerable  surplus 
of  valuable  peltry. 

The  agricultural  labor  is  chiefly  performed  by  the 
women,  and  this  is  done  entirely  with  the  hoe.  These 
also  braid  floor  mats  of  a  superior  quality.  The  men 


INDIANS   OF    THE    WEST. 

•who  do  not  hunt,  work  at  mining  in  the  lead  region. 
The  chiefs  take  a  great  deal  of  pains  to  instruct  the 
people  in  their  duty.  As  soon  as  daylight  appears, 
one  of  the  principal  men  goes  through  the  village  pro- 
claiming in  a  loud  voice  what  every  man  ought  to  do. 
Their  communities  in  general,  appear  to  be  well  re- 
gulated. The  children  of  both  sexes  seem  to  be  par- 
ticularly under  the  charge  of  their  mothers  ;  the  boys 
till  they  are  of  a  suitable  age  to  handle  the  bow  or  the 
gun.  Corporal  punishment  is  seldom  used.  If  the 
child  commits  any  fault  deserving  of  correction,  it  is 
common  for  the  mother  to  blacken  its  face  and  send 
it  out  of  the  wigwam:  when  this  is  done  the  child 
is  not  allowed  to  eat  until  the  paint  is  removed. 
When  the  boys  are  six  or  seven  years  old,  small  bows 
and  arrows  are  put  into  their  hands,  and  they  are  sent 
to  shoot  birds  around  the  village  :  this  is  practised  five 
or  six  years,  after  which  they  are  furnished  with 
short  guns,  and  begin  to  hunt  ducks,  geese,  &c.  Dur- 
ing the  winter  evenings,  their  fathers  relate  to  them 
the  manner  of  approaching  a  deer,  elk,  or  buffalo,  and 
the  method  of  setting  a  trap,  &c. 

These  people  appear  to  have  some  dim  traditions 
of  the  Mosaic  account  of  the  creation  of  man.  They 
state  that  the  Great  Spirit  originally  made  two  men 
of  the  dust  of  the  earth,  but  finding  that  these  alone 
would  not  answer  his  purpose,  he  took  from  each  man 
a  rib,  and  made  two  women.  From  these  four  sprang 
all  the  red  men.  At  first  they  were  all  one  nation ; 
but  afterwards  in  consequence  of  their  bad  behavior, 
the  Great  Spirit  paid  them  a  visit  and  talked  differ- 
ent languages  to  them,  which  caused  a  confusion  of 


INDIANS    OF    THE    WEST.  317 

tongues,  and  a  general  dispersion  of  mankind.  In 
consideration  of  the  superiority  of  the  white  men, 
they  suppose  them  to  have  been  created  from  fine 
dust,  and  the  Indians  from  a  coarser  material. 


Sioux  ball  player. 

THE  Sioux. — These  Indians  are  called  in  their  own 
language  Dahcotahs.  The  name  of  Sioux  was  be- 
stowed upon  them  by  the  French  :  but  the  meaning 
of  it  is  not  apparent.  They  constitute  one  of  the  most 
numerous  tribes  in  North  America  ;  their  population 
being  estimated  at  forty  or  fifty  thousand.  It  is  sup- 
posed that  they  could  bring  into  the  field  eight  or  ten 
thousand  warriors  well  armed,  and  a  large  portion  of 
27* 


INDIANS   OF    THE    WEST. 

them  mounted.  They  capture  vast  numbers  of  the 
wild  horses  on  the  plains  toward  the  Rocky  Moun- 
tains. Some  of  them  have  fire-arms,  but  the  greater 
part  hunt  with  bows  and  arrows,  and  long  lances, 
shooting  their  game  from  their  horses'  backs  while  at 
full  speed.  Their  personal  appearance  is  fine  and 
prepossessing ;  their  figures  are  tall  and  straight,  and 
their  movements  elastic  and  graceful;  one  half  of 
their  warriors  measure  six  feet  or  more  in  height. 

The  Sioux  occupy  a  large  tract  of  country  extend- 
ing from  the  Mississippi  to  the  base  of  the  Rocky 
Mountains.  They  are  everywhere  a  migratory,  roam- 
ing people,  and  their  different  hordes  or  bands 
amount  to  forty -two,  each  of  which  has  a  chief;  but 
there  is  a  superior  or  head  chief,  whose  authority  is 
acknowledged  by  all.  In  general  they  are  considered 
as  divided  into  two  main  bodies,  the  Mississippi  and 
the  Missouri  Sioux.  Those  inhabiting  the  banks 
of  the  Mississippi  have  made  some  advances  toward 
civilization,  and  have  held  considerable  intercourse 
with  white  people  for  several  years.  They  are  much 
addicted  to  the  use  of  strong  liquor,  and  are  a  very 
unfair  representation  of  the  great  mass  of  their  nation 
who  dwell  along  the  Missouri,  and  roam  over  the  vast 
plains  that  lie  between  that  river  and  the  Rocky 
Mountains :  this  portion  of  the  Sioux  still  maintain 
the  original  wildness  of  their  character. 

These  Indians  have  many  modes  of  worshipping 
the  Good,  and  conciliating  the  Evil  Spirit :  they  have 
numerous  fasts  and  feasts,  and  various  forms  of  sa- 
crifices. An  extraordinary  and  sanguinary  custom 
prevails  among  them,  which  finds  no  parallel  in  any 


INDIANS   OF   THE   WEST.  319 

other  tribe.  It  is  a  sort  of  penance  of  great  cruelty, 
and  is  attended  with  only  one  palliating  circumstance, 
which  is,  that  it  is  voluntary.  It  is  called  "  looking 
at  the  Sun."  The  individual  who  performs  it  is 
stripped  nearly  naked,  and  splints  or  skewers  are 
run  through  his  flesh  on  both  breasts :  cords  are  at- 
tached to  these  splints,  and  fastened  to  the  top  of  a 
pole  set  in  the  ground.  In  this  position,  he  leans 
back,  with  nearly  the  whole  weight  of  his  body  hang- 
ing to  the  pole.  The  blood  trickles  from  his  wounds, 
and  the  crowd  around  him  look  on  and  encourage 
him.  The  musicians  beat  their  drums  and  shake 
their  rattles,  and  sing  as  loud  as  they  can  yell,  to  sus- 
tain his  courage  and  fortitude.  The  sufferer  in  the 
mean  time  takes  no  notice  of  any  one,  but  fixes  his 
eyes  upon  the  sun  from  morning  to  night,  gradually 
turning  his  body  with  its  progress,  till  he  sees  it  sink 
below  the  horizon.  If  he  faints  and  falls,  of  which 
there  is  imminent  danger,  he  loses  his  reputation  as  a 
brave  man,  and  suffers  a  signal  disgrace  in  the  estima- 
tion of  the  tribe,  like  all  men  who  have  the  presump- 
tion to  set  themselves  up  for  heroes  or  magicians,  and 
fail  to  sustain  the  character.  If  his  heart  and  strength 
have  not  failed  him  at  sun-set,  he  is  then  liberated, 
and  receives  a  liberal  donation  of  presents  which  have 
been  thrown  into  a  pile  before  him,  during  the  day. 
The  title  of  doctor  or  medicine-man,  is  also  confer- 
red upon  him,  which  ensures  him  respect  through  life. 
The  honorary  degrees  bestowed  by  our  colleges  are 
generally  purchased  at  a  far  easier  rate ! 

The  Sioux  are  inordinately  fond  of  dancing,  and 
have  such  a  variety  of  this  kind  of  amusement,  that 


320 


INDIANS   OF   THE    WEST. 


they  might  be  characteristically  termed  the  "  dancing 
Indians."  They  seem  to  have  dances  appropriate  to 
almost  every  occasion.  Some  of  them  are  so  gro- 
tesque and  laughable  as  to  keep  the  spectators  in  a 
constant  roar  of  merriment ;  some  are  calculated  to 
excite  pity ;  others  disgust.  In  their  villages,  there  is 
scarcely  an  hour  of  the  day  or  night  when  the  beat 
of  the  drum  is  not  heard.  Dancing  in  fact  enters 
into  their  forms  of  worship,  and  is  also  their  method 
of  honoring  and  entertaining  strangers  of  distinction. 


The  bear  dance. 

The  Sioux,  like  the  other  tribes,  are  fond  of  bear's 
meat,  and  are  careful  to  lay  in  good  stores  of  the  grease 
of  this  animal  for  the  purpose  of  anointing  their  hair 
and  skin.  Previous  to  setting  out  upon  a  bear-hunt, 
the  bear-dance  is  performed  for  several  days  together, 
in  which  they  all  join  in  a  song  to  the  Bear  Spirit, 
which  they  imagine  has  somewhere  an  invisible  ex- 
istence, and  must  be  conciliated  before  they  can  enter 


INDIANS   OF   THE    WEST 


321 


upon  the  chace  with  any  prospect  of  success.  In  this 
extravagant  and  amusing  scene,  one  of  the  chief 
"  medicine-men"  places  over  his  body  the  entire  skin 
of  a  bear,  and  takes  the  lead  in  the  dance.  Others 
wear  masks  made  of  the  skin  taken  from  bears'  heads. 
All  the  performers  imitate  the  motions  of  this  beast, 
running  on  all  fours,  squatting,  jumping  up,  &c. 
The  Sioux  have  many  other  customs  peculiar  to 
themselves,  but  on  the  whole  they  resemble  the  great 
mass  of  the  Western  tribes. 

The  Assineboim  appear  to  be  a  branch  of  the  Sioux 
nation.  They  occupy  a  tract  of  country  extending 
into  the  British  possessions,  as  far  north  as  Lake 
Winnipeg.  Their  name  signifies  "  stone-boiler,"  and 
is  derived  from  their  practice  of  cooking  meat ;  which 
is  performed  in  the  following  manner.  When  an 
animal  is  killed,  they  dig  a  hole  in  the  ground  and 
line  it  with  its  raw  hide.  Water  is  poured  into  this, 
and  the  meat  is  boiled  by  keeping  the  water  heated 
by  the  constant  addition  of  red  hot  stones.  This  pro- 
cess is  a  very  awkward  and  tedious  one ;  but  the  peo- 
ple are  too  unskilful  to  construct  articles  of  pottery. 

The  Assineboins  are  tall  and  well  shaped,  and  wear 
their  pictured  robes  of  buffalo  hide  with  much  grace 
and  picturesque  effect.  They  are  good  hunters,  and 
are  tolerably  well  supplied  with  horses.  Their  games 
and  amusements  are  numerous ;  one  of  the  favorite 
sports  is  playing  at  ball.  They  have  also  the  game 
of  the  moccasin,  horse-racing  and  dancing.  They 
let  their  hair  grow  to  a  very  great  length  ;  and  many 
of  them  may  be  seen  with  their  tresses  reaching  down 
to  the  ground ;  this,  however,  is  sometimes  the  work 
u 


INDIANS  OF    THE   WEST. 

of  art,  for  they  have  the  faculty  of  splicing  on  addi- 
tional lengths  which  are  fastened  so  ingeniously  with 
glue  and  paste  as  completely  to  deceive  the  eye. 

The  Sioux  women,  like  those  of  most  of  the  other 
Indian  tribes,  carry  their  children  upon  their  backs. 
The  child,  in  its  earliest  infancy,  has  its  back  lashed 
to  a  straight  board,  being  fastened  to  it  by  bandages, 
which  pass  around  it  in  front,  and  on  the  back  of  the 
board  they  are  tightened  to  the  necessary  degree  by 
lacing  strings,  which  hold  the  infant  in  a  straight  and 
healthy  position,  with  its  feet  resting  on  a  broad  hoop, 
passing  around  the  foot  of  the  cradle.  The  manner 
of  suspending  the  cradle  may  be  seen  in  the  annexed 
engraving.  The  child's  position  as  it  hangs  on  its 


Sioux  rvomcn. 


mother's  back,  that  of  standing  erect,  no  doubt  has  a 
tendency  to  produce  straight  limbs,  and  sound  lungs. 
The  cradles  are  often  highly  ornamented.  The  band- 
ages are  covered  with  a  beautiful  embroidery  of  por- 
cupine quills,  exhibiting  figures  of  horses,  men,  &c, 


INDIANS    OF    THE    WEST.  328 

In  front,  is  suspended  a  little  toy  of  exquisite  work- 
manship, for  the  child  to  play  with. 

If  the  infant  dies  during  the  time  it  should  continue 
in  the  cradle,  it  is  buried,  and  the  disconsolate  mother 
fills  the  cradle  with  black  quills  and  feathers,  and  car- 
ries it  around  with  her  wherever  she  goes,  for  a  year 
or  more,  with  as  much  care,  as  if  it  were  occupied  by 
the  living  child.  While  at  her  work  in  the  wigwam, 
she  is  engaged  also  in  chatting  and  talking  familiarly 
to  her  infant,  as  if  it  heard  and  understood  her  lan> 
guage.  So  strong  and  lasting  is  the  affection  of  moth- 
ers for  their  lost  children,  that  it  matters  not  how 
heavy  are  the  loads  which  they  are  obliged  to  carry, 
or  how  rugged  and  painful  the  route  they  are  travel- 
ling, they  will  faithfully  carry  this  'mourning  cradle' 
from  day  to  day,  with  the  utmost  care,  and  even  more 
strictly  perform  their  duties  to  it,  than  if  the  child 
were  alive. 

THE  KNISTENEAUX. — The  Knisteneaux,  or  Crees, 
inhabit  the  territory  north  of  the  Missouri,  and  west  of 
the  Mississippi.  They  constitute  a  numerous  tribe, 
and  associate  with  the  Assineboins,  sometimes  inter- 
marrying with  them.  Their  manners  and  customs  are 
similar,  but  there  is  no  resemblance  in  their  languages. 
They  are  well  supplied  with  horses,  and  seldom  travel 
or  hunt  on  foot.  Their  clothing  consists  of  cloth  leg- 
gins,  a  shirt  and  a  frock  of  deer  skin,  and  a  blanket  or 
dressed  buffalo  hide  thrown  over  the  shoulders  and  tied 
round  the  waist.  When  attacked  by  disease,  their  com- 
mon method  of  cure  is  much  the  same  as  is  practised 
by  our  modern  steam  doctors.  The  women  erect  a  sort 
of  hut  of  bended  willows,  nearly  circular,  three  or  four 


324 


INDIANS   OF  THE   WEST. 


feet  high.  Over  this  they  lay  buffalo  hides  and  other 
coverings,  and  in  the  centre  of  the  hut  they  place  a 
heap  of  red  hot  stones.  The  patient  is  then  stripped, 
and  enters  with  a  dish  of  water  in  his  hand,  a  little  of 
which  he  throws  from  time  to  time  on  the  stones  ;  this 
raises  a  hot  steam,  and  causes  a  profuse  perspiration. 
In  this  condition  he  remains  about  an  hour,  sustaining 
the  most  intense  heat.  On  coming  out  he  is  fre- 
quently plunged  into  a  river,  or  rubbed  with  snow. 


Chijtpenay  cJiief. 

THE  CHIPPEWAVS. — The  Chippeways,  orOdjibwas, 
as  they  are  sometimes  called,  reside  on  the  shores  of 
Lakes  Superior  and  ^Michigan.  Their  manners,  dress, 
&c.,  resemble  very  nearly  those  of  the  tribes  we  have 
just  described,  but  their  method  of  going  to  war  is 


INDIANS   OF   THE   WEST. 

peculiar.  A  warrior  wishing  to  march  against  the 
enemy,  blacks  his  face,  abstains  from  food,  and  pre- 
pares a  temporary  lodge  without  the  village,  in  which, 
he  sits  and  smokes  his  pipe.  In  the  middle  of  the 
tent  hangs  a  belt  of  wampum,  a  piece  of  ornamented 
scarlet  cloth.  A  young  Indian,  who  wishes  to  accom- 
pany him,  goes  into  the  lodge  and  draws  the  wampum 
or  cloth  through  his  left  hand ;  then  sits  down  and 
smokes.  Another  and  another  follow  in  the  same 
manner,  and  when  a  sufficient  number  are  collected, 
they  begin  to  compare  their  dreams  day  after  day. 
If  the  dreams  are  favorable,  they  march  immediately; 
if  otherwise,  the  expedition  is  deferred.  In  setting 
out,  the  whole  party  meet  at  their  leader's  lodge,  where 
they  beat  the  drum,  and  pray  to  the  Great  Spirit  to 
grant  them  success  against  their  enemies.  One  in 
whom  they  place  confidence  is  appointed  to  carry  the 
medicine  bag,  which  is  made  of  the  skin  of  some 
animal,  and  is  regarded  as  a  kind  of  amulet. 

Most  of  these  Indians  marry  young,  the  men  from 
sixteen  to  twenty,  and  the  girls  from  fourteen  to  eigh- 
teen years  of  age.  Wives  are  purchased,  and  consid- 
ered as  the  property  of  their  husbands.  Polygamy 
is  practised  among  them,  and  they  appear  to  have  no 
marriage  ceremonies  whatever. 

Among  the  customs  of  this  people,  may  be  noticed 
the  snow-shoe  dance,  which  is  performed  at  the  falling 
of  the  first  snow.  It  is  described  as  being  quite  pic- 
turesque, and  appears,  like  most  other  Indian  dances, 
to  blend  amusement  with  religious  feeling.  It  is  de- 
signed, at  least  in  part,  as  a  thanksgiving  to  the  Great 
Spirit,  for  the  return  of  the  season  in  which  they  may 
v.— 28 


326 


INDIANS    OF    THE    WEST. 


more  easily  pursue  their  game,  for,  while  they  are 
supported  on  the  snow  by  their  shoes,  the  animals  are 
obstructed  in  their  progress,  and  are  the  less  able  to 
make  their  escape. 


Snow-shoe  dance. 

"  The  bark  canoe  of  the  Chippeways,"  says  Catlin, 
"  is  perhaps  the  most  beautiful  and  light  model  of  all 
the  water  crafts  that  were  ever  invented.  They  are 
generally  made  complete  \vith  the  rind  of  one  birch 
tree,  and  so  ingeniously  sewed  together  with  roots  of 
the  tamarack,  that  they  are  water-tight,  and  ride  upon 
the  water  as  light  as  a  cork.  They  gracefully  lean  and 
dodge  about  under  the  skilful  balance  of  an  Indian, 
or  the  ugliest  squaw,  but,  like  everything  wild,  seem 
timid  and  treacherous  under  the  guidance  of  white 
men."  The  Chippeways  are  much  addicted  to  the 
use  of  canoes,  as  well  for  business  as  amusement. 


INDIANS    OF    THE    WEST. 


32? 


They  often  engage  in  boat  races,  which  elicit  all  the 
wild  and  passionate  energy  of  the  savage. 


3   ^-4,    r\fr,    ~>)   rr^^r^=- 


Chippeway  boat  race. 

THE  BLACKFEET. — The  Blackfeet  are  one  of  the 
most  powerful  and  warlike  tribes  on  the  continent. 
They  occupy  the  whole  of  the  territory  about  the 
sources  of  the  Missouri,  and  from  this  region  to  the 
Rocky  Mountains.  Their  numbers  are  estimated  at 
forty  or  fifty  thousand.  They  roam  fearlessly  over 
the  country,  through  every  part  of  the  mountainous 
territory,  maintaining  a  perpetual  hostility  with  almost 
all  the  neighboring  tribes.  Being  aware  of  their 
strength,  they  have  stubbornly  resisted  the  formation 
of  trading  establishments  in  their  country.  This  re- 
gion abounds  in  beaver  and  buffalo,  and  the  American 
Fur  Company,  with  an  unconquerable  spirit  of  trade 


328  INDIANS   OF  THE    WEST. 

and  enterprise,  has  pushed  its  establishments  across 
their  borders,  and  the  numerous  parties  of  trappers 
are  traversing  the  banks  of  their  rivers,  and  destroying 
the  beavers.  The  Blackfeet  have  repeatedly  informed 
the  traders  of  the  company,  that  if  their  men  persist 
in  hunting  beaver  upon  the  Indian  territory,  they 
should  kill  them  wherever  they  met  with  them,  which 
threat  they  have  frequently  put  in  execution. 


Blackfoot  noman. 

This  tribe  is  divided  into  four  bands,  or  families. 
They  are  of  a  middling  height,  but  stout,  with  broad 
shoulders  and  great  expanse  of  chest.  The  skins 
of  which  their  dresses  are  made,  are  chiefly  of  a  dark 


INDIANS   OF   THE    WEST.  329 

color;  and  their  black  leggins,  or  moccasons,  have 
probably  given  them  the  name  which  they  bear. 

No  tribe  on  the  continent  pays  a  greater  attention  to 
dress  than  the  Blackfeet,  unless  it  be  their  hereditary 
enemies,  the  Crows.  Their  apparel  is  not  only  more 
ample  and  comfortable  than  that  of  other  Indians,  but 
is  exceedingly  gaudy. 

The  Blackfeet  construct  their  wigwams,  or  lodges, 
of  buffalo  skins,  sewed  together  and  made  into  the 
form  of  a  tent.  This  is  supported  on  the  inside  by 
twenty  or  thirty  long  poles,  having  an  opening  at  the 
top  to  admit  the  light  and  let  out  the  smoke.  These 
lodges  are  taken  down  in  a  few  minutes  by  the  squaws, 
when  they  wish  to  change  their  residence,  and  are 
easily  transported  to  any  part  of  the  country.  They 
generally  remove  six  or  eight  times  in  the  course  of  a 
summer,  following  the  immense  herds  of  buffaloes  as 
they  range  over  the  vast  plains.  The  manner  in 
which,  an  encampment  of  Indians  strike  their  tents, 
and  transport  them,  is  curious,  and  affords  a  novel  and 
interesting  sight  to  a  traveller.  The  chief  sends  his 
runners,  or  criers  through  the  village,  a  few  hours 
before  the  removal  is  to  be  made,  announcing  his  de- 
termination to  decamp,  and  the  hour  fixed  upon  for 
the  departure.  The  preparations  are  immediately 
made,  and  at  the  moment  prescribed,  the  lodge  of  the 
chief  is  seen  flapping  in  the  wind,  a  part  of  the  poles 
having  been  taken  out  from  under  it.  This  is  the 
signal,  and  in  one  moment  five  or  six  hundred  tall 
tents  are  seen  waving  and  flapping  in  the  wind,  and 
in  a  minute  more,  are  flat  upon  the  ground.  The 
horses  and  dogs  are  all  ready,  and  each  one  is  speedily 
28* 


J30 


INDIANS   OF   THE   WEST. 


loaded  with  his  burden,  and  prepared  to  fall  into  the 
procession. 


Blackfeet  Indians  removing. 

For  this  curious  cavalcade,  preparation  is  made  in  the 
following  manner.  The  poles  of  a  lodge  are  divided 
into  two  bundles,  and  the  small  ends  of  each  bundle 
are  fastened  upon  the  shoulders,  or  withers  of  a  horse, 
leaving  the  but  ends  to  drag  upon  the  ground  on  each 
side.  Just  behind  the  animal,  a  brace  is  tied  across, 
which  keeps  these  shafts  in  their  respective  places. 
On  this  dragging  vehicle,  is  placed  a  heavy  load,  con- 
sisting of  the  tent  covering,  rolled  up,  numerous 
articles  of  domestic  furniture,  and  on  the  top  of  all, 
two,  three  or  four  women  and  children.  Each  of  the 
horses  has  a  conductress,,  who  sometimes  walks  before 
and  leads  it,  with  an  enormous  pack  upon  her  own 


INDIANS    OF    THE    WEST.  331 

back ;  at  other  times  she  sits  upon  the  animal,  with  a 
child  perhaps  at  her  breast,  and  another  astride  of  the 
horse  behind  her.  In  this  way,  five  or  six  hundred 
Indian  dwellings,  with  all  their  furniture,  may  be  seen 
drawn  out  for  miles,  creeping  over  the  grass-covered 
plains  of  the  west,  and  three  times  that  number  of 
men  mounted  on  fine  horses,  strolling  along  in  front 
or  on  the  flanks.  In  some  tribes,  the  rear  of  this 
heterogeneous  caravan  will  be  brought  up  by  a  body 
of  two  or  three  thousand  dogs,  each  of  the  large  ones 
dragging  a  car  or  sled. 

THE  SHOSHONEES. — The  Shoshonees  are  a  small 
tribe  of  the  race  called  Snake  Indians,  a  vague  deno- 
mination which  embraces  at  once  the  inhabitants  of 
the  southern  parts  of  the  Eocky  Mountains,  and  of 
the  plains  on  each  side.  They  live  a  migratory  life, 
residing  in  summer  on  the  head  streams  of  the  Oregon, 
where  they  are  secure  from  their  enemies  the  Paw- 
nees. During  this  period,  they  subsist  on  salmon, 
which  are  abundant  in  those  streams  ;  but  on  the  ap  • 
proach  of  autumn,  they  are  compelled  to  seek  subsist- 
ence elsewhere.  They  then  cross  the  mountains  to 
the  head  streams  of  the  Missouri,  where  they  join 
their  friends  the  Flatheads,  and  hunt  buffaloes  in  the 
plains,  east  of  the  mountains,  near  which  they  spend 
the  winter,  till  the  return  of  the  salmon  invites  them 
again  to  the  waters  of  the  Oregon.  But  such  is  their 
terror  of  the  Pawnees,  that  as  long  as  they  can  obtain 
the  scantiest  subsistence,  they  do  not  leave  the  ele- 
vated country  ;  and  as  soon  as  they  have  collected  a 
large  stock  of  dried  meat  they  again  retreat,  thus  al- 
ternately obtaining  their  food  at  the  hazard  of  their 


332  INDIANS    OF   THE   WEST. 

lives,  and  hiding  themselves  to  consume  it.  In  this 
loose  and  wandering  existence  they  suffer  the  ex- 
tremes of  want ;  for  two  thirds  of  the  year  they  are 
forced  to  live  among  the  mountains,  passing  whole 
weeks  without  meat,  and  with  no  other  food  than  a 
scanty  supply  of  fish  and  roots. 

Yet  notwithstanding  the  incessant  hardships  to 
which  they  are  exposed,  the  Shoshonees  are  cheerful 
and  even  gay.  In  their  intercourse  with  strangers, 
they  are  frank  and  communicative,  and  in  their  deal- 
'ngs  perfectly  fair.  But  little  government  exists  among 
them.  Each  individual  is  his  own  master,  and  the 
only  rule  to  which  he  is  subjected  as  a  member  of  the 
community  is  the  advice  of  a  chief,  supported  by  his 
influence  over  the  opinions  of  the  rest  of  the  tribe. 
The  chief  himself  is  in  fact  no  more  than  the  most 
experienced  person  among  the  warriors,  a  rank  neither 
distinguished  by  any  external  honor  nor  invested  by 
any  personal  ceremony,  but  gradually  acquired  through 
the  good  opinion  of  his  companions,  and  by  a  sense 
of  his  superior  merit.  In  their  domestic  economy, 
the  man  is  the  sole  proprietor  of  his  wives  and 
daughters,  and  can  barter  them  away  or  dispose  of 
them  in  any  manner  he  may  think  proper.  The 
children  are  seldom  corrected,  and  the  boys  soon  be- 
come their  own  masters ;  they  are  never  whipped, 
from  a  belief  that  it  breaks  their  spirit.  Polygamy  is 
very  common. 

The  females  are  condemned,  as  among  almost  all 
savage  nations,  to  the  lowest  and  most  laborious 
drudgery.  When  the  tribe  is  stationary,  they  collect 
the  roots,  and  do  the  cooking :  they  build  the  huts, 


INDIANS    OF    THE    WEST.  333 

dress  the  skins,  and  make  clothing,  gather  fuel,  and 
assist  in  taking  care  of  the  horses.  The  only  busi- 
ness of  the  man  is  to  fight,  hunt  and  fish :  he  therefore 
takes  on  himself  the  care  of  his  horse,  the  companion 
of  his  warfare.  He  would  consider  himself  degraded 
by  being  compelled  to  walk  any  distance,  and  were  he 
so  poor  as  to  possess  only  two  horses,  he  would  ride 
the  better  one,  and  leave  the  other  for  his  wives, 
children  and  baggage.  Their  stock  of  horses,  how- 
ever, is  commonly  very  large :  each  warrior  has  one 
or  two  tied  to  a  stake  near  his  hut  day  and  night,  so 
as  to  be  always  ready  for  action.  The  Shoshonees 
are  a  warlike  tribe.  Their  cold  and  rugged  country 
inures  them  to  fatigue  ;  their  long  abstinence  enables 
them  to  support  the  dangers  of  mountain  warfare. 
They  always  fight  on  horseback.  They  have  a  few 
bad  guns,  but  their  common  arms  are  the  bow  and  ar- 
row, a  shield,  a  lance,  and  a  weapon  called  the 
poggamoggon,  which  consists  of  a  stone  fastened  to 
the  end  of  a  thong,  and  is  capable  of  striking  a  very 
severe  blow.  They  have  a  sort  of  armor,  which  is 
something  like  a  coat  of  mail,  and  is  formed  by  a  great 
many  folds  of  dressed  antelope  skins,  united  by  a  ce- 
ment of  glue  and  sand.  They  are  expert  horsemen, 
and  when  armed  and  mounted,  the  Shoshonee  is  a 
formidable  enemy,  notwithstanding  the  inferiority 
of  his  weapons.  When  they  attack  at  full  speed,  they 
bend  forward  and  cover  their  bodies  with  their  shields, 
while  with  the  right  hand  they  shoot  under  the  horse's 
neck. 

These  Indians  are  among  the  most  ill-looking  of  all 
the  North  American  savages.     They  are  of  a  diminu- 


334  INDIANS    OF    THE    WEST. 

tive  stature,  and  dark  complexion,  with  thick  flat  feet 
and  crooked  legs.  They  hold  some  intercourse  with 
the  Spaniards,  from  whom  they  obtain  mules  and 
certain  articles  for  domestic  use.  They  have  the  com- 
mon Indian  fondness  for  finery,  and  the  fur  tippets  of 
the  women  are  uncommonly  beautiful.  They  wear 
pearl  ornaments  which  they  obtain  from  a  friendly 
tnbe  living  to  the  south-west,  beyond  the  barren  plains 
on  the  western  side  of  the  mountains. 

THE  CHINNOOKS. — These  Indians  inhabit  the  coun- 
try about  the  mouth  of  the  Oregon.  They  are  an  ill- 
looking  race,  of  a  diminutive  stature,  with  broad, 
thick  flat  feet,  thick  ankles  and  crooked  legs ;  this 
last  deformity  is  owing,  probably,  to  the  universal  prac- 
tice of  squatting  or  sitting  upon  their  heels,  and  to  the 
tight  bandages  of  beads  and  strings  worn  by  the  women 
round  their  ankles.  Their  complexion  is  the  usual 
copper-colored  brown,  but  somewhat  lighter  than  that 
of  the  Indians  east  of  the  Rocky  Mountains.  The 
Chinnooks,  as  well  as  all  the  neighboring  tribes,  prac- 
tise the  custom  of  flattening  the  head,  by  placing  it, 
during  infancy,  between  two  boards.  The  females 
tattoo  their  skins;  but  the  favorite  ornaments  of  both 
sexes,  are  coarse  white  and  blue  beads,  strings  of 
which  are  wound  very  tightly  about  their  wrists  and 
ankles,  to  the  width  of  three  or  four  inches.  They 
also  wear  large  quantities  round  the  neck,  in  the  ears, 
and  hanging  from  the  nose,  which  last  mode  is  pecu- 
liar to  the  men. 

The  moral  qualities  of  these  people  have  been  de- 
scribed in  a  very  contradictory  manner  by  the  different 
individuals  who  have  visited  them.  Lewis  and  Clarke 


INDIANS    OF    THE    WEST.  335 

found  them  mild  and  inoffensive,  and  uniformly  expe- 
rienced the  most  friendly  treatment  from  them,  al- 
though they  would  occasionally  pilfer  small  articles. 
In  their  traffic,  they  were  acute  and  intelligent,  em- 
ploying in  all  their  bargains,  a  dexterity  and  foresight 
which  seemed  to  belong  to  a  more  civilized  race. 
They  began  by  asking  double  and  treble  the  value  of 
their  commodities,  and  lowering  their  demands  in 
proportion  to  the  wariness  of  the  purchaser.  The 
first  offer  they  always  rejected,  so  that  after  refusing 
the  most  extravagant  prices  which  were  first  proposed 
by  way  of  experiment,  they  would  at  last  importune 
for  a  tenth  part  of  the  sum.  In  this  respect  they  differ 
from  almost  all  other  Indians,  who  will  generally  ex- 
change in  a  thoughtless  moment  the  most  valuable 
article  they  possess  for  any  bauble  which  happens  to 
please  their  fancy. 

A  modern  traveller  has  declared  that  their  good 
qualities  are  few,  and  their  vices  many.  According 
to  his  account,  they  are  industrious,  patient  and  sober, 
but  addicted  to  theft,  lying,  incontinence,  gaming  and 
cruelty.  They  are  also  complete  hypocrites.  Each 
community  accuses  the  other  of  envy,  hatred,  malice, 
and  all  uncharitableness.  Even  the  inhabitants  of 
the  same  village,  while  they  feign  an  outward  appear- 
ance of  friendship,  indulge  in  backbiting, — in  this  re- 
spect differing  little  from  the  people  of  more  civilized 
countries.  Their  bravery  seems  doubtful ;  but  what 
they  lack  in  courage,  they  make  up  in  effrontery. 
Fear  alone  prevents  them  from  making  open  attemptt 
at  robbery,  and  what  they  practise  in  this  way, 
amounts  to  no  more  than  petty  larceny. 


336  INDIANS    OK    THE    WEST. 

They  purchase  slaves  from  the  neighboring 
for  beaver  and  other  skins,  beads,  &c.  While  in 
good  health  and  able  to  work,  these  are  well  treated ; 
but  as  soon  as  they  fall  sick,  or  become  unfit  for  labor, 
the  unfortunate  slaves  are  totally  neglected,  and  left 
to  perish.  It  sometimes  happens  that  a  slave  is  adopt- 
ed by  a  family,  in  which  case  he  is  permitted  to  marry 
one  of  the  tribe,  and  his  children  by  undergoing  the 
flattening  process,  become  adopted  into  it. 

When  a  Chinnook  dies,  his  body  is  placed  in  a 
small  canoe,  with  his  bow,  arrows,  and  other  weapons 
by  his  side.  The  canoe  is  then  lodged  upon  a  high 
platform  near  the  seaside,  or  upon  rocks  out  of  the 
reach  of  the  tide,  and  covered  with  mats.  If  the  rela- 
tives of  the  deceased  can  afford  it,  a  larger  canoe 
is  placed  bottom  upwards,  over  him,  and  both  are 
firmly  bound  together.  His  wives,  relatives,  and 
slaves  go  into  mourning,  by  cutting  their  hair,  and  for 
some  time  after  his  death,  repair  twice  a  day,  at  the 
rising  and  setting  of  the  sun,  to  an  adjoining  wood,  to 
chant  his  funeral  dirge. 

The  Chinnooks,  in  common  with  all  the  tribes  of 
the  Oregon  territory,  differ  remarkably  in  one  impor- 
tant respect  from  most  other  Indians ;  they  have  a 
strong  and  unconquerable  dislike  to  intoxicating 
liquors.  They,  however,  sometimes  exhilarate  them- 
selves by  smoking  tobacco,  of  which  they  are  exces- 
sively fond,  and  the  enjoyment  of  which  they  prolong 
as  much  as  possible,  by  retaining  large  quantities  of 
smoke,  till  after  circulating  through  the  lungs  and 
stomach,  it  issues  in  volumes  from  the  mouth  and  nos- 
trils. Their  worst  vice  appears  to  be  gaming,  which, 
they  pursue  with  a  reckless  and  ruinous  avidity. 


ADVERTISEMENT-CABINET  LIBRARY. 

PARLEY'S  CABINET  LIBRARY, 

For  Schools  and  Families. 

THIS  work  consists  of  Twenty  Volumes,  and  contains 
\CTfive  hundred  different  subjects,  and  is  illustrated  by  Jive 
hundred  Engravings. 

HjT  It  is  an  entirely  original  series,  recently  written  and 
completed  by  S.  G.  GOODRICH,  the  author  of  Peter  Farley's 
Tales. 

Qj°  This  is  the  only  library  that  has  been  expressly  written 
for  a  School  and  Family  Library.  It  is  adopted  into  many  of 
the  libraries  of  the  leading  schools  and  seminaries  in  New 
England  and  New  York,  and  has  been  introduced,  in  the 
space  of  a  few  months,  into  more  than  three  thousand  fami- 
lies, in  Boston,  New  York,  and  Philadelphia. 

The  following  is  a  list  of  the  Volumes,  each  containing 
about  320  pages,  16mo. :  — 

BIOGRAPHIC AIi  DEPARTMENT. 

Vol.  1. —  LIVES  OF  FAMOUS  MEN  OF  MODERN  TIMES. 
"  2. —  LIVES  OF  FAMOUS  MEN  OF  ANCIENT  TIMES. 
"  3.  —  CURIOSITIES  OF  HUMAN  NATURE;  OR,  THE  LIVES 

or  ECCENTRIC  AND  WONDERFUL  PERSONS. 
"    4.  —  LIVES  OF   BENEFACTORS  ;    INCLUDING  PATRIOTS, 

INVENTORS,   DISCOVERERS,  &c. 

5.  —  LIVES  OF  FAMOUS  AMERICAN  INDIANS. 

6.  —  LIVES  OF  CELEBRATED  WOMEN. 

HISTORICAL  DEPARTMENT. 

7. —  LIGHTS  AND  SHADOWS  OF  AMERICAN  HISTORY. 

8.  —  LIGHTS  AND  SHADOWS  OF  EUROPEAN  HISTORY. 

9.  —  LIGHTS  AND  SHADOWS  OF  ASIATIC  HISTORY. 

10.  —  LIGHTS  AND  SHADOWS  OF  AFRICAN  HISTORY 

11.  —  HISTORY  OF  THE  AMERICAN  INDIANS. 

12.  —  MANNERS,  CUSTOMS,  AND  ANTIQUITIES    OF    TH« 

AMERICAN  INDIANS. 

MISCELLANEOUS. 

"  13.  —  A  GLANCE  AT  THE  SCIENCES,  ASTRONOMY,  NATU- 
RAL PHILOSOPHY,  &c. 

"  14.  —  WONDERS  OF  GEOLOGY. 

"  15.  —  ANECDOTES  OF  THE  ANIMAL  KINGDOM. 

"  16.  —  A  GLANCE  AT  PHILOSOPHY,  MENTAL,  MORAL, 
AND  SOCIAL. 

"  17.  —  BOOK  OF  LITERATURE,  ANCIENT  AND  MODERN, 
WITH  SPECIMENS. 


ADVERTISEMENT— CABINET  LIBRARV. 

Vol.18. —  ENTERPRISE,  INDUSTRY,  AND  ART  OF  MAN. 

"  19.  —  MANNERS  AND  CUSTOMS  OF  ALL  NATIONS. 

"  20.  —  THE  WORLD  AND  ITS  INHABITANTS. 

Q33  These  works  are  designed  to  exhibit,  in  a  popular 
form,  SELECT  BIOGRAPHIES,  ANCIENT  AND  MODERN;  the 
Wonders  and  Curiosities  of  HISTORY,  NATURE,  ART,  SCI- 
ENCE, AND  PHILOSOPHY,  with  the  Practical  Duties  of  Life. 

It  cannot  be  deemed  invidious  to  say,  that  no  similar  work 
has  met  with  equal  favor  at  the  hands  of  the  public,  as  the 
following  testimonials,  among  many  others,  will  show  :  — 
The  Hon.  H.  O.  Otis,  of  Boston,  says,  June  4,  1845, 

I  view  it  as  the  best  compendium  of  useful  learning  and  information,  re- 
specting its  proposed  contents,  far  the  use  of  young  persons  and  schools, 
that  has  fallen  within  my  knowledge.  It  abounds  in  illustrations  of  the 
history  of  the  world,  and  the  customs  and  manners  of  nations,  that  may  be 
read  by  general  scholars  of  any  age,  with  pleasure. 

The  Rev.  Dr.  Sprague  says,  Albany,  June  10,  1845, 

I  regard  the  Cabinet  Library  as  a  most  important  accession  to  the  means 
of  intellectual  and  moral  culture,  especially  in  respect  to  the  rising  genera- 
tion. But  while  it  is  peculiarly  adapted  to  the  young,  it  may  be  read  by 
persons  of  any  age  with  both  ple'asure  and  profit.  To  men  of  business,  who 
have  not  leisure  to  read  extensively,  and  indeed  to  all  who  would  keep  up 
with  the  times,  the  work  is  invaluable.  It  is  also  suited  to  the  various 
members  of  the  family  circle,  $gj~  and  is  among  the  very  best  of  the  libraries 
for  public  schools.  I  learn  that  it  is  introduced  into  the  public  schools  of 
this  city,  (Albany,)  and  various  other  places,  and  I  cannot  doubt  that  it 
will  ultimately  be  adopted  in  our  seminaries  of  learning  generally. 

Charles  Sprague,  Esq.,  of  Boston,  says,  June  24,  1845, 

1  have  read,  with  both  pleasure  and  profit,  all  the  numbers  of  your  very 
instructive  Cabinet  .Library.  My  friend  and  namesake,  the  Rev.  Dr.  Sprague, 
has  so  exactly  expressed  my  opinion  of  the  work,  that  I  need  only  adopt 
his  language,  in  recommending  it,  as  I  cheerfully  do,  to  the  favorable 
attention  of  both  teachers  and  learners. 

from  the  Quincy  Patriot,  July  8. 

We  recommend  it  (Parley's  Cabinet  Library)  as  peculiarly  valuable  to 
families.  We  often  see  one  young  man  taking  precedence  of  others  in  the 
race  of  life.  If  we  could  read  his  history  minutely,  we  should  see  the 
explanation  of  the  case  to  be,  that  he  had  a  better  head  or  a  better  heart 
than  others.  Now  we  know  of  no  works  so  well  calculated  to  mould  the 
head  and  heart  aright  as  those  of  "  Peter  Parley." 

Those  parents  who  wish  to  have  their  children  "  go  ahead  "  in  life, 
should  place  Parley's  Cabinet  Library  within  their  reach.  We  have  never 
seen  a  work  better  suited  to  bestow  instruction,  or  that  inculcates  truth  in 
a  more  pleasant  fashion. 

From  the  Boston  Courier,  July  8. 

They  are  exceedingly  agreeable  books,  and  such  as  young  and  old  may 
peruse  with  pleasure  and  profit.  The  moral  and  religious  account  to  which 
the  author  turns  every  subject  must  render  tlie  work  peculiarly  suitable 
to  the  family  and  the  school  library.  We  cheerfully  commend  the  work 
to  the  public  as  one  of  sterling  value. 

From  the  Boston  dtlas,  May  3. 

It  is  a  compact  family  and  school  library  of  substantial  reading,  which  is 
delightful  In  point  of  style,  and  wholesome  in  its  moral,  social,  and  religious 
tendency. 


ADVERTISEMENT-CABINET  LIBRARY. 

from  the  Boston  Post,  July  8. 

We  hardly  know  when  we  have  been  better  pleased  with  a  publica- 
tion than  this. 

From  Hunt's  Merchant's  Magazine,  September,  1845. 

This  work,  now  complete,  is  the  most  elaborate  of  the  works  of  the  au- 
thor for  the  young  ;  and  we  think  it  quite  the  best.  It  is  a  library  of  facts, 
and  seems  intended  to  cultivate  a  taste  for  this  kind  of  reading.  It  is  said 
that  "  truth  is  stranger  than  fiction,"  and  no  one  who  has  perused  these 
pages  can  feel  any  necessity  for  seeking  excitement  in  the  high-wrought 
pages  of  romance.  Every  subject  touched  by  the  author  seems  invested 
with  a  lively  interest ;  and  even'  dry  statistics  are  made,  like  steel  be- 
neath the  strokes  of  the  flint,  to  yield  sparks  calculated  to  kindle  the  mind. 
In  treating  of  the  iron  manufacture,  —  a  rather  hard  subject,  it  would  seem, 
—  we  are  told  that,  every  "  working  day,  fifty  millions  of  nails  are  made, 
bought,  sold,  and  used  in  the  United  States ;  "  and,  in  speaking  of  the  man- 
ufacture of  cotton,  we  are  informed  that  the  Merrimack  mills  of  Lowell 
alone  "  spin  a  thread  of  sufficient  length  to  belt  the  world,  at  the  equator, 
in  two  hours." 

The  work  was  doubtless  intended  for  the  young ;  and  we  think  it  quite 
equal,  for  this  object,  to  any  thing  that  has  been  produced  ;  yet  it  is  also 
suited  to  the  perusal  of  all  classes,  especially  to  men  of  business,  who  find 
little  leisure  for  reading,  and  who  yet  are  unwilling  to  be  left  behind  in 
the  great  march  of  knowledge  and  improvement,  rfs  there  is  now  a  strong  de- 
sire, especially  among-  the  enlightened  friends  of  education  in  this  state,  to  have 
the  common  schools  supplied  with  suitable  books  fur  libraries,  we  heartily  com- 
mend this  series  to  the  notice  of  all  who  are  desirous  of  obtaining  books  for 
this  object.  They  are  unquestionably  among  the  best  that  have  been  prepared 
for  school  libraries,  being  every  way  attractive  and  instructive. 

No  one  can  fail  to  be  pleased  with  the  simplicity  and  elegance  of  the 
style,  and  with  the  vein  of  cheerfulness,  humanity,  and  morality,  which 
runs  through  the  pages  of  the  volumes.  The  moral  influence  of  the  work, 
especially  upon  the  young,  cannot  fail  to  be  in  the  highest  degree  effec'.vu 
and  salutary. 

From  the  Troy  Whig,  July  20. 

They  are  written  in  an  easy  and  graceful  style,  and  are  compiled  from 
the  most  authentic  sources.    They  will  be  found  highly  attractive  to  young 
people  of  both  sexes,  and  worthy  to  be  read  by  persons  of  mature  age. 
from  the  Albany  Jlieertistr. 

It  would  be  difficult  to  find  any  where,  in  such  convenient  compass, 
so  much  healthy  and  palatable  food  for  the  youthful  mind  as  is  furnished 
by  Parley's  Cabinet  Library. 

From  the  Albany  drg-us. 

We  know  of  no  series  of  volumes  on  kindred  subjects  so  good  as  these 
for  parents  to  put  into  the  hands  of  their  children.  It  is  due  not  only  to 
the  author,  who  has  rendered  great  service  to  the  cause  of  American  lit- 
erature, but  to  the  work  itself,  and  to  the  best  interests  of  the  youth  of  our 
nation,  that  these  volumes  should  be  scattered  all  over  the  land. 
From  the  JVew  England  Puritan. 

We  cordially  recommend  the  work  to  the  perusal  of  all. 
From  the  Boston  Post,  May  6. 

The  very  best  work  of  its  class  is  Parley's  Cabinet  Library.  It  combines 
a  vast  deal  of  useful  information,  conveyed  in  an  exceedingly  interesting 
style.  The  beauty  of  the  typographical  execution,  the  cheapness  of  the 
volumes,  and  the  great  intrinsic  merit  of  their  contents,  must  render  the 
work  one  of  general  popularity. 

From  the  Boston  Courier,  May  18. 

As  we  have  quoted  so  largely  from  Mr.  Goodrich's  work,  we  ought  to 
say —  what  it  richly  merits  —  that  it  is  a  pleasing  and  useful  series,  and 


ADVERTISEMENT-CABINET  LIBRARY. 

that  it  is  calculated  not  only  to  instruct  and  amuse,  but  to  cultivate  virtu- 
ous and  patriotic  sentiments.  With  those  who  read  for  mere  amusement, 
it  is  worthy  of  attention,  for  the  author  has  ingeniously  contrived  to  give 
truth  all  the  charms  of  fiction. 

From  the  Albany  Advertiser, 

It  ought  to  be,  and  no  doubt  will  be,  extensively  introduced  into  schools 
From  the  Say  State  Democrat,  July  8. 

The  volumes  are  illustrated  with  spirited  wood  engravings,  and  printed 
in  Dickinson's  neatest  style.  Altogether,  they  present  decidedly  the  most 
attractive  appearance  as  to  matter  and  form,  of  any  works  we  have  seen  for 
a  long  time. 

From  the  Quiney  Aurora. 

Parley's  Cabinet  Library  is  a  publication  of  rare  excellence.  No  writer 
of  the  present  day  invests  the  themes  of  which  he  treats  with  livelier  inter- 
est than  the  well-known  Peter  Parley.  His  pen  imparts  to  history  and  biog- 
raphy the  charm  of  romance  ;  while,  at  the  same  time,  it  unfolds  rich  and 
enduring  treasures  of  practical  and  useful  knowledge. 

The  animal,  the  mineral,  and  vegetable  kingdoms  of  nature  present, 
beneath  his  pencil,  the  attractions  of  a  grand  museum.  The  publication 
of  his  Cabinet  Library  will  accomplish  much,  in  our  opinion,  to  eradicate 
the  eagerness  for  fiction  which  engrosses  so  extensively  the  public  mind. 
The  perusal  of  these  volumes  will  convince  the  reader  that  reality  has 
charms  as  potent,  and  &.T  more  satisfying  than  those  of  the  ideal  world. 
We  know  of  no  work,  comprehended  within  equal  limits,  capable  of  afford- 
ing richer  intellectual  banqueting. 

'         From  the  Boston  Traveller. 

We  deem  it  but  a  discharge  of  our  duty  to  our  readers,  to  urge  this  val- 
uable series  upon  .their  attention.  The  whole  series  will  cost  but  a  trifle, 
yet  they  may  and  doubtless  will  be  the  deciding  means  of  insuring  suc- 
cess in  life  to  many  a  youth  who  shall  enjoy  the  means  of  reading  them. 

From  the  Boston  Recorder. 

They  are  written  in  a  pleasing  style,  and  are  enlivened  by  numerous 
characteristic  anecdotes.  The  series  will  form  a  very  valuable  library. 

From  the  Boston  Post,  May  27. 

It  is  an  admirable  publication  for  the  family  and  school  library.  Its  top- 
ics are  interesting  and  important,  and  presented  in  a  simule  but  effective 
style. 

From  the  Boston  Atlas,  July  8. 

Fancy's  Cabinet  Library  is  worthy  of  all  encouragement.  It  is  cheap 
not  only  in  promisej  but  in  fact.  It  is  also  calculated  to  exercise  a  whole- 
some influence.  Like  every  thing  from  the  same  author,  it  strongly  in- 
culcates virtue  and  religion,  and  at  the  same  time  it  arrays  truth  in  a  guise 
BO  comely  and  attractive,  that  it  is  likely  to  win  many  votaries  of  fiction 
to  companionship  with  it.  There  is  great  need  of  such  works  at  this  time 

BOARD  OF  EDUCATION,        ) 
City  of  Rochester,  Sept.  2,  1844.  \ 

Whereas,  the  Board  of  Education  have  examined  a  series  of  books 
called  "  Parley's  Cabinet  Library,"  now  in  course  of  publication  by  Samuel 
G.  Goodrich,  Esq.,  (the  celebrated  Peter  Parley,)  embracing,  in  the  course 
of  twenty  volumes,  the  various  subjects  of  history,  biography,  geography, 
the  manners  and  customs  of  different  nations,  the  condition  of  the  arts, 
sciences,  &c. ;  and  whereas,  this  Board  are  satisfied  that  the  same  are  high- 
ly useful  to  the  young :  therefore, 

Resolved,  that  we  recommend  that  the  same  be  procured  by  trustees  for 
the  several  school  libraries,  at  the  earliest  practicable  period.  A  true  copy 
of  the  minutes,  '.  P.  MACK,  Sup't 


\ 


THE  LIBRARY 
UNIVERSITY  OF  CALIFORNIA 

Santa  Barbara 


THIS  BOOK  IS  DUE  ON  THE  LAST  DATE 
STAMPED  BELOW. 


Oft  0 
Drpn  pro  n  -~ 

Ktly  btbjj  i  «v,Jo 


2/92  Series  9482 


- 


UC  SOUTHt  RN  REGIONAL  LIBRARY  FACILITY 


3  1205021295926 


IMIUCKITV     a 


a  THE  UMAHY  Of  e 


